NDIS provider's former director had drug problem, court told

A former co-director of a company that oversaw Ann Marie Smith's care was captured on a listening device admitting she has a drug problem after she was asked to leave her workplace to seek help, court documents show.

Former Integrity Care SA (ICSA) director Amy June Collins is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to a category one charge of reckless conduct, "the most serious" breach under the Work Health and Safety Act.

Her client, Ms Smith, was confined to a cane chair 24 hours a day for a year leading up to her death in April 2020.

She died from malnutrition, multiple organ failure, severe septic shock and other complications from her cerebral palsy while she was in full-time care.

Both Collins and the other co-director Alison Virgo were originally charged with criminal neglect, but those charges were dropped with only Collins pleading guilty a lesser charge in August this year.

In court documents obtained by the ABC, the prosecution said there was evidence Collins was using drugs between 2019 and 2020.

"The defendant was recorded on a listening device situated in the dining room of her home stating she had a methylamphetamine problem 12 months prior and explaining that she was 'now all good' following an intervention," the documents showed.

The prosecution wrote Ms Virgo provided an interview confirming Collins predominantly consumed "ice". 

"Ms Virgo states that by the end of 2019, the defendant's drug usage was obvious to ICSA staff and Ms Virgo herself, due to her irregular behaviour," the document said. 

The prosecution said Ms Virgo explained the adverse implications for the company, which "led to an intervention being held and the defendant being asked not to attend the ICSA office and to seek help." 

The prosecution said a police search of Collins's property also led to the discovery of five tabs of LSD and a substance confirmed to be cocaine and methylamphetamine. 

"This is significant, given the defendant was a director of ICSA during this time period and in control of ICSA's operations,"

the document said.

More than $15k withdrawn from company

The prosecution also revealed Collins used the company's debit card for gambling purposes, which Ms Virgo discovered when she began at the company as finance manager, observing withdrawals that were occurring overnight.

The prosecution said Ms Virgo took the ICSA debit card off Collins and removed her as a signatory to the account.

"In total between August 2018 and Feb 2019 there were 164 debit card purchases made from the ICSA Westpac bank account to Direx Limited Cyprus — resulting in the withdrawal of approximately $15,306.46," the documents said.

The court documents showed Direx Limited Cyprus appeared to be an interactive gambling service.

The prosecution said Collins also used EntroPay, a UK company which provided virtual cards for secure online payments.

"[EntroPay] allowed users to load money onto virtual cards to make online payments without providing their ordinary card details to the merchant," the documents said.

"These transactions do not identify where the payments went after EntroPay, nonetheless it can be inferred that the defendant was utilising EntroPay to either conceal her gambling activities or to conceal the ICSA Westpac bank account debit/credit card details."

During sentencing submissions last week, Collins's defence lawyer Chad Jacobi KC argued there was no causal link between her drug use and gambling to her offending.

Collins is not facing criminal charges relating to the prosecution's submissions about drug use and gambling. 

Collins felt 'guilty' in apology letter

The ABC has also obtained Collins's written letter of apology where she told Judge Ian Press thinking of what happened to Ms Smith "brought her to tears".

"I feel horrible for what happened to Ann Marie Smith," the letter said.

"I knew since I was a child that I wanted to be a nurse and help people … I would never knowingly hurt another person."

"I accept that Integrity Care grew too quickly for me to keep up. I used to try to do everything myself rather than delegating tasks, and the running of the company got away from me.

"I feel guilty about what has happened, especially when I reflect on the similarities in the conditions between Annie and my son."

"I think often of Annie and what she silently endured in her final weeks and it brings me to tears."

The prosecutor argued Collins's apology letter did not acknowledge the "extent to which her own conduct contributed to her failure to properly discharge her responsibilities as a director".

Collins will appear before the District Court next month for further sentencing submissions.

Ms Smith's disability care worker, Rosa Maria Maoine, previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter by criminal neglect and was jailed in March 2022 for at least five years.