Alfonsus Jozef Maria Ellenbroek, 64, admitted stealing $565,624 from the Alpha Support Centre Trust in Christchurch, along with his wife, Cecilia.

A Canterbury couple ripped off a disability support charity to the tune of more than half a million dollars, blowing it on overseas trips, concerts, earrings and food.

Name suppression lifted on Thursday when the Pegasus couple – Cecilia Ann Ellenbroek, 61, and Alfonsus Jozef Maria Ellenbroek, 64 – admitted stealing $565,624 from the Alpha Support Centre Trust between 2010 and 2015.

The trust provided community-based support for intellectually disabled adults.

The Ellenbroeks were two of five trustees. Alfonsus Ellenbroek was chairman and the operations manager. He oversaw the payroll. Cecilia Ellenbroek was the effective chief executive officer responsible for the day-to-day management.

Were you or a family member affected by the couple's actions? Email joel.ineson@stuff.co.nz

Cecilia Ellenbroek constantly impressed on the trust's staff that there was a need to economise. She asked staff to keep heating off during winter until the clients had arrived, limit outings to save on petrol costs, refrain from using new art and crafts items, and reduced baking sessions.

Meanwhile, the couple used the trust's cards to buy personal items including travel and accommodation, groceries, cigarettes, alcohol, clothing and accessories, appliances and homewares. They listed the personal expenditure as business expenses for the trust.

Contacted by Stuff after the conviction, one former trustee said the board was oblivious to the Ellenbroeks' financial misconduct.

Harry van Tongeren, a trustee until the charity shut down in 2015, said a lack of available financial services after the Christchurch earthquakes led to "some of the concerns" starting.

"But they weren't brought to the attention of the trustees until the investigation occurred by the Serious Fraud Office," he said.

"That would've been a consequence of the initial investigations by the Ministries [of Health and Social Development] prior to the closing of Alpha Support."

van Tongeren's recollection of the way the business was run conflicted with the scenario laid out in court.

He said his memory was of "lovely people, great service, a great business, great opportunity".

"Certainly when it was working well it was a fantastic arrangement. Unfortunately, obviously things went a bit pear-shaped for some reason … and I don't know [the details]."

At his North Canterbury home on Thursday, Alfonsus Ellenbroek said his lawyer advised against commenting.

"We will make a comment at sentencing. It's quite a lot more involved than what I can tell you right now."

When asked if the couple were sorry, Cecilia Ellenbroek said "yes" as she shut the door.

BIG SPENDER

Cecilia Ellenbroek's spending on the trust included:

– More than $120,000 for personal accommodation at a beachfront condo in Waikiki Beach, Honolulu.

– About $21,000 towards sightseeing trips for them and their intellectually disabled son to San Diego, New York, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles, including flights, accommodation, meals, and entertainment.

– Kitchen and laundry appliances valued at more than $14,000.

– Diamond earrings valued at $3999.

– Flights and New Zealand concert tickets for Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Jason Derulo, and Bruno Mars.

– Grocery purchases made with the credit card that exceeded the trust's grocery requirements.

– Some of the purchases were made in Queenstown where they have a holiday home.

Cecilia Ellenbroek admitted six charges of false accounting and six charges of theft by a person in a special relationship, amounting to $494,544.

Alfonsus Ellenbroek admitted six charges of theft by a person in a special relationship, totalling $71,080.

THE TRUST

The Alpha trust was set up as a charitable trust in 1998 because there was a shortage of community-based day support services in Christchurch after the psychopaedic units at the Templeton Centre closed in 1996. Adults de-institutionalised from Templeton went into community-based support.

It was contracted to receive funding from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Social Development.

The trust operated from premises in Ferry Rd in Waltham, Christchurch, with the aim of providing "quality vocational and recreational services for people with an intellectual disability".

It received about a million dollars a year in funding from the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Social Development. It also received donations and funding grants from other sources, which ranged up to $50,000 a year.

The trust operated a credit card account to be used in buying items for the trust.

Cecilia Ellenbroek reviewed the monthly statement for the cards and hand wrote code next to each purchase, indicating which purchases were for the trust and which were personal.

The charity employed one part-time and 11 full-time staff members, according to its last financial return. In 2009 it had 15 full-time staff and three part-timers.

The trust did not file annual returns for its final two years. In 2010 and 2012, it operated at losses of $183,458 and $28,912, respectively.

In 2011 and 2013, it had surpluses of $6911 and $26,077.

The trust ceased operation in 2015.

Contacted on Thursday evening, van Tongeren said day-to-day operations were "very professionally done".

"They were wonderful people to the best of my knowledge. They were running a wonderful business, they had wonderful responsibility, it was a great service to the community.

"I was very impressed and proud to be a trustee. If it's gone wrong I can't tell you why."

Craig Ellenbroek, another Alpha trustee, declined to comment before the couple's sentencing.

COUPLE TO REPAY MONEY

Defence counsel for Cecilia Ellenbroek, James Rapley, said substantial reparation was going to be paid before the sentencing.

The Serious Fraud Office, which brought the prosecution, asked for some of money to go to residents of the trust during those years, since they did not receive all the support they should have because of the thefts.

Prosecutor Anne Toohey said: "The staff of Alpha saw a noticeable decline in the standard of service offered to Alpha's clients from 2010 to 2015, which was directly related to a shortage of funding.

"One staff member ultimately felt compelled to resign as she was unable to provide the level of care that was required with the resources available."

Cecilia Ellenbroek specifically targeted high needs clients to secure more funding, but these clients required significant staff oversight.

"The most significant impact of the funding shortage was the inability to pay and retain sufficient staff," Toohey said.

Christchurch District Court Judge Gary MacAskill remanded the couple on continued bail for sentencing on October 25. He asked for pre-sentence reports with assessments of their suitability for home detention.