Auckland, Nov 16 NZPA - A prostitute who scammed $105,000 out of a 72-year-old man who subsequently took his life has had her jail sentence cut by six months.

Mary Regina Birch, 46, who was paid for sex and then swindled the man, who had recently separated from his wife, was initially jailed for three years and four months at the High Court in Tauranga in July.

She had earlier admitted 48 charges of fraudulently using a document to obtain money or goods and one charge of money laundering.

But Court of Appeal Justices Bruce Robertson, Patricia Courtney and Rodney Hansen have reduced that sentence to two years 10 months after the woman's lawyer, Bill Nabney, had argued the starting point was high.

The Appeal Court judges agreed that it was not clear the judge had properly taken into account Birch's co-operation in relation to the recovery of a substantial proportion of the $105,402 she stole.

The judges said the amount of money outstanding at the time of sentencing was $38,826.77, but it was not clear in Justice Peter Rollo's judgment that he had taken into account that substantial recoveries had occurred.

"He noted that it was not possible to make a reparation order, but whether he contemplated that the amount outstanding was under $40,000 or in excess of $100,000 is not apparent," they said.

"Although not determinative, the scale of the loss, which results from criminal offending of this type, is a relevant factor."

The judges cut the sentencing starting point from four years three months imprisonment to three years, with an overall sentence of two years 10 months.

Birch, who provided sexual favours to the separated man twice in February 2008, later moved into his home, after telling him she had nowhere to live.

Birch was given his ATM card and pin number to buy groceries and pay bills and given use of the deceased's car.

She also helped herself to the man's chequebook, forging his signature and cashed two cheques totalling $86,000.

The judges rejected Mr Nabney's argument that Justice Rollo wrongly took into account the complainant taking his own life in this year.

They said Justice Rollo noted it was not only Birch's actions that led to the death but that it would have been a contributing factor, a description the judges said was "a neutral and appropriate assessment of what occurred".