The former chief executive of a major government-funded healthcare service has been found guilty of embezzling nearly a million dollars.

Damien Matcham has been ordered to pay $1.2 million after it was found he awarded himself dozens of unauthorised bonuses during his time at the Katungul Aboriginal Community Corporation.

Court documents show he claimed pay for working more than 24 hours in a single day, at the service which provides health care to Indigenous people in New South Wales.

The Federal Court has now ordered Mr Matcham repay the Commonwealth $500,000, give $705,905 in compensation to the organisation, and cover legal costs.

The Registrar of Indigenous Corporations, Anthony Bevan, says Matcham’s greed nearly buried the organisation.

“Katungul was in a situation where it had $2,400 to its name and it had gone from multi-million-dollar organisation to having $2,400 to its name, and it was on the verge of insolvency,” he said.

“In our submissions to the court that was largely due to the actions of Mr Matcham.”

The former CEO has been disqualified from managing similar corporations for 15 years.

“It is plain that Mr Matcham abused his position of trust by obtaining payments of large amounts to which he was not entitled and which were obtained for his personal use,” the written judgment said.

“His breaches of trust were committed over a period of four years in circumstances which demonstrate that he should have been aware that he was not entitled to the payments.”