Shannon Uerata sat with her head down when she fronted Tamworth Local Court for sentencing after admitting to dishonestly obtaining more than $27,000 from Baiada Poultry's West Tamworth facility while she was managing the Out Street store.

The 37-year-old's defence solicitor Richard O'Halloran told the court Uerata was experiencing a distressing personal situation, isolated from family, and battling a gambling addiction when she was charged by police following an investigation by senior Baiada staff in October 2023.

An internal review at the company revealed a number of "weird" and "out of the ordinary" transactions over a three-month period which found a large number of the void transactions had been made at the Tamworth store.

Court documents reveal Uerata started working for the poultry company in 2016, before moving to the Out Street facility where she worked as a manager until she resigned in September 2023.

Following the review, Uerata, who had resigned from the company, was contacted by Baiada staff about the transactions.

"It was me," the 37-year-old told senior staff.

The matter was reported to police and a criminal investigation was launched.

Officers interviewed other staff members at the West Tamworth store who reported Uerata had instructed them to void transactions as a senior manager required the payments in cash.

This would occur late in the day and at least once a week at the store.

CCTV also showed Uerata attending the store and being handed cash. Staff would also come to her home and hand over money.

Uerata was interviewed by police on February 16, 2024, and admitted to being responsible for the void transactions.

The total amount believed to have been voided or fraudulently taken from the store added up to $27,362.80.

She told police she used the money for gambling and household items.

"She was very honest with police," Mr O'Halloran said.

The court heard the 37-year-old had already obtained a loan to help pay back the money.

Uerata previously pleaded guilty to the charge and had represented herself in court.

During sentencing, magistrate Mal MacPherson said Uerata had committed a "serious breach of trust".

He told the court the threshold for a prison sentence had been crossed, but this could be served in the community.

Uerata was sentenced to a 10 month supervised Intensive Corrections Order, or a community-based prison sentence.

The 37-year-old was also ordered to pay back the full amount to Baiada.