It used to be that bosses had to worry about who had the combination to the office safe. Now, it's who has the password to the internet banking account - as businessman John Bruderlin found after thousands of dollars disappeared.

The former general manager of Mr Bruderlin's catering supply business, Cara Aitken, pilfered $17,457 from the company's internet banking account over a year, then set herself up as a rival.

Aitken, 25, of Drummoyne, was sentenced in Burwood Local Court yesterday to 100 hours community service, after pleading guilty to 13 counts of larceny as a clerk.

A fact sheet tendered to the court says Aitken took the money from the Caterworks internet banking account and transferred it to her account between December 2001 and December 2002. The court heard she disguised the payments using the office's software, making the transactions appear to be payments to suppliers.

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