A convicted fraudster has complained about the media attention she has received for failing to repay her father after she stole his life savings of $320,000.

Helen Christine Williams appeared in the New Plymouth District Court on Wednesday to be re-sentenced for her unpaid reparation.

In January 2016, she was sentenced to 12 months' home detention on a charge of theft in a special relationship and ordered to pay back the money she stole at a rate of $200 per week.

GRANT MATTHEW/ FAIRFAX NZ Helen Christine Williams, seen here pictured in Stratford, Taranaki in February, has stopped paying back her court ordered reparation.

To date, she has only paid back $6677 and completely stopped payments last November.

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Lawyer Julian Hannam told the court Williams' preference was to have the matter settled as soon as possible due to the backlash she faced from what he described as a "feeding frenzy" created by media coverage related to her case.

ANDY JACKSON/Fairfax NZ Helen Williams' father Ray Thomson spoke out about his daughter's betrayal and how he was left with $20 to his name.

"It's a very emotional matter which carries a lot of baggage with it," Hannam said of the offending.

Judge Chris Sygrove dismissed the scrutiny Williams had been under and said there was a solution to put a stop to it.

"She could do that by paying the money outstanding. It's as simple as that," Judge Sygrove said.

CHARLOTTE CURD / FAIRFAX NZ New Plymouth District Court Judge Chris Sygrove made an order for 81-year-old Peter Foreman to be placed into a secure facility for treatment for his dementia.

However, Judge Sygrove said he needed more time to consider the file before he dealt with Willams and adjourned the case until May 31.

In the interim, the judge told Williams it would be in her best interests to re-start her reparation payments.

If she didn't, the court would likely take a "dim view", he said.

Williams' brother, John Thomson, has previously said he felt the court had done little to question his sister's ability to pay, despite that commitment being a reason he believed helped keep her out of prison.

Thomson was in court for Wednesday's hearing, as he had intended to read a victim impact statement which had been prepared by his father.

Ministry of Justice figures rank Williams' reparation debt as the eighth highest in New Zealand.

The top five offenders collectively owe more than $2.3 million but had paid back only $75,000 by the end of February this year.

The accumulated years of reparations debt totalled $122m. The figures dwarf the amount being paid back by offenders: Last year courts ordered $30.4m in reparations, but offenders repaid only $23.3m.

* CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story contained an incorrect reparations figure, which has now been corrected.