SPCS

SOCIETY FOR PROMOTION OF COMMUNITY STANDARDS INC.

Bankrupt insurance company boss gets four-and-a-half years jail for fraud

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GRANT MALCOLM HERBERT – former insurance company boss – and now a bankrupt – has been jailed for four years and six months after his conviction last month on 24 fraud charges.

Insurance broker Grant Herbert leaves the Auckland District Court. Photo / Dean Purcell

Grant Malcolm Herbert was sentenced in the Auckland District Court. [Photo credit / Dean Purcell. NZ Herald]

Herbert was owner and managing director from 1991 of insurance brokerage Herbert Insurance Group, which collapsed in March 2011.

An investigation by the Serious Fraud Office found that he had received premiums from clients but failed to forward about $2.5 million of it to insurers, having some customers uninsured, the court heard. [Read more…]

Former SCF director – Edward Sullivan – found guilty of fraud in relation to $1.58B company collapse

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A former director of South Canterbury Finance (SCF) has been found guilty of what has been billed the “biggest fraud in New Zealand’s history”, in relation to the company’s $1.58 billion collapse in 2010. In the High Court at Timaru this morning, Edward Sullivan, aged 72, a former lawyer, was found guilty of five of the nine charges he faced. He has been remanded on bail  and will face sentencing on 12 December 2014.

Edward Sullivan SCF director

Photo: Stuff News: Edward Sullivan (far left)

Justice Heath criticised the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation into the company’s collapse, stating there might have been documents that showed transactions were being concealed but the “deficiencies in the investigation by the SFO office meant that evidence did not exist.”

Another CFC former director Bob White, 70, and former chief executive, accountant Lachie McLeod, 50, were found Not guilty on ALL counts.

The men faced a total of 18 charges under the Crimes Act, including theft by a person in a special relationship, obtaining by deception, false statements by the promoter of a company, and false accounting – each carrying maximum penalties ranging from seven to 10 years’ jail.

Full story: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/10612568/SCF-trial-has-one-guilty-two-not-guilty-verdicts

[Read more…]

Money laundering probe into a wealthy businessman.

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An alleged money laundering probe into a wealthy businessman has been triggered …. following the collapse of companies connected to an Albany based project – the collapse involving $9 million in deposits owed to investors.

The money-laundering case against the businessman is linked to an alleged $129 million fraud. No criminal charges have been laid yet against the man, according to his lawyer, who said his client denies any wrongdoing.

Detectives raided the businessman’s luxury [Auckland Central] penthouse in August and seized at least $40 million of assets using the Criminal Proceeds Recovery law, which essentially forces someone to prove how an asset was paid for.

Full story: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11341308

Investigating shell companies

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Criminals use shell companies to launder money, evade taxes and perpetuate all manner of fraud. The author defines and dissects shell companies to help CFEs investigate this threat that can hit uncomfortable close to home….

In many instances, one shell company isn’t enough — fraudsters need a network. Dozens of shells, nominee directors, addresses and fake shareholders might be required to conceal a scheme or criminal plot. Big-time criminal conspirators will utilize shell incorporators to do the heavy lifting and help create a corporate web of disguise that can perplex and confuse the best of investigators.

See full article: http://www.fraud-magazine.com/article.aspx?id=4294983054

Shell games: Investigating shell companies and understanding their roles in international fraud

by Ryan C. Hubbs, CFE, CIA, PHR, CCSA. Fraud Magazine July/August 2014
http://www.fraud-magazine.com/article.aspx?id=4294983054

 

David Ross – convicted fraudster: loses jail term appeal

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David Ross, the man behind the single biggest fraud in New Zealand’s history, has lost his bid to have his “unreasonably crushing” minimum jail term reduced.

In November Ross, 64, was jailed for 10 years and 10 months for operating a fraudulent scheme in which private investors lost about $115 million.

His company, Ross Asset Management, fleeced at least 700 investors through portfolios in which they thought they had more than $380m.

For full story see: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/10199187/David-Ross-loses-jail-term-appeal