Margaret Dixon defrauded a trust of money intended for the management of a forest in the Far North (file photo).

A woman has pleaded guilty to defrauding a Māori trust of nearly $1 million.

Margaret Dixon, 59, pleaded guilty to three representative charges of theft by person in special relationship in the Auckland District Court.

The charges were brought by the Serious Fraud Office in relation to her role as a trustee for the Parengarenga 3G Trust.

The trust manages Parengarenga 3G, a 511.8ha forestry block of Maori land located in the Tai Tokerau district in the Far North. There are hundreds of beneficial owners of the land.

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In June 2012, Dixon, along with her brother Stephen Henare and and five others, were appointed as trustees in place of the Māori Trustee.

In August 2012, about $1.1 million, intended primarily for the management of the land and the forest for the benefit of the owners, was transferred from the Maori Trustee to the Parengarenga 3G Trust bank accounts.

A further $54,480 was also obtained by the trust from the sale of carbon credits.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said Dixon intentionally failed to deal with $934,270 of the trust's funds in accordance with the Parengarenga 3G Trust Order.

She facilitated the transfer of a "significant amount" of the trust's money into various other bank accounts, including personal accounts and family trusts, the SFO said.

That left debts due for the care of the forest unpaid, and by January 2014 there was only $13.41 left of the funds.

Henare, 60, faces six charges of theft by person in special relationship in relation to his role as a trustee.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is next due to appear in the Auckland District Court on May 23.

Dixon will be sentenced on July 6.