SPCS

SOCIETY FOR PROMOTION OF COMMUNITY STANDARDS INC.

Recent white collar criminal sentences

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Michael Swann – 9 years, 6 months

Michael Swann was sentenced to nine years six’ months jail in 2009 for his part in defrauding the Otago District Health Board of $16.9 million. He spent almost $11.6 million on boats, flash cars and properties – buying some with suitcases of cash. A former employee of the health board, Swann was released on parole earlier this year after serving four years and eight months of his sentence. As at July, police had recovered about $3.6 million from Swann, mostly through the sale of assets seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Millions of dollars more remain unaccounted for.

Sentencing of other notable white collar criminals – continued [Read more…]

Serious Fraud Office’s crime blind spot highlighted in SSC Review

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The Serious Fraud Office does not have the ability to proactively target serious financial crime, and preventing this offending is probably better done by other agencies, says a Government-commissioned review.

When SFO director Julie Read took up her post last year she told the Herald the agency would like to be a “bit more proactive”.

Asked if the SFO’s more reactive approach would change, Read said this would be partly answered by a State Services Commission review, which was issued this week.

The report says the justice sector is focusing more on crime prevention.

But lead reviewer Debbie Francis said that while better access to intelligence could support earlier detection of financial crime, preventive activity was not supported by the SFO’s statutory mandate and was “probably better done by others”.

Francis said the SFO did not have the ability to develop a current, medium or long-term view of possible threats, and this was required to “proactively target high priority serious financial crime and corruption”.

The strongest “preventive element” of the SFO’s activity was the deterrent effect of its investigations and successful prosecutions.

Source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11262890 [Read more…]

White collar crime: Heavy sentences imposed on offenders convicted of premeditated fraud

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The offending of Jacqui Bradley, the former financial adviser jailed today for seven years and five months on fraud charges, was premeditated and left many elderly investors financially and emotionally ruined, the Auckland District Court heard.

[This fraud case has some similarities to the 2009 conviction of Michael Swann who was given a 9.5 year jail sentence relating to a huge fraud against the Otago District Health Board. See https://www.spcs.org.nz/tag/michael-swann/ ].

A jury last month found Bradley, aged 61, guilty of 75 charges of fraud after a five-week trial. Bradley ran the failed finance company B’On Financial Services with her late husband Mike until it collapsed in December 2009 owing 28 investors $15.5 million.

Judge Christopher Field, in sentencing today, said the extent of loss, harm and damage was “very significant indeed”…..

It’s the third prosecution involving an affinity fraud by financial advisers that the SFO has completed in the past three months with offending across all three cases totalling almost $21m.

In other recent white collar crime cases those found guilty received a range of sentences in line with that handed out to Jacqui Bradley today.

Former Capital + Merchant directors Wayne Douglas and Neal Nicholls were give 7 and a half years jail in July on various fraud counts involving about $28m of transactions after Justice Edwin Wylie said they were motivate by greed and self-interest. DataSouth director Gavin Bennett got 8 years jail in May for defrauding South Canterbury Finance while Bridgecorp director Rod Petricevic got almost 7 years in April for misleading investors and spending company money on a luxury yacht.

Former ASB bank employee Stephen Velsalko got six years jail time in a 2010 case involving $17m stolen from his employer while in 2009 Michael Swann was given 9.5 years relating to a huge fraud against the Otago District Health Board.

For more see: Bradley offending premeditated. Story by Nick Kraus

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/7837957/Bradley-offending-premeditated

Further reading:

See: https://www.spcs.org.nz/2010/michael-swann-checketts-mckay-fraud-and-otago-dhbs-missing-6-million-report/

https://www.spcs.org.nz/2010/michael-swann-computer-south-ltd-and-checketts-mckay-law/

Firms hit by rise in fraud – NZ Herald

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Workplace fraud totalling millions of dollars is hitting firms at a time when they need every cent to climb out of the recession. According to a survey by accountancy firm KPMG, New Zealand’s top companies have been hit hard during the global financial crisis with the average reported fraud doubling in two years. Stephen Bell, KPMG’s national head of forensic practice, said the average cost of fraud at companies that took part in its survey grew from $1.9 million in 2008 to $3.8 million last year. He said the total level of fraud increased from $385 million (2008) to $441 million (2010)…

Grace Haden [who] is a director at Auckland private investigation firm Verisure Investigations says… “Companies must be being ripped off left, right and centre – but New Zealand is portrayed as being so corruption-free that people don’t believe it happens here.”

[Comment:  The Society (SPCS) believes that the myth that the NZ business and work-place environment is corruption-free must be well and truly exposed as a complete falsehood. The injurious nature of white-collar crime such as fraud etc. to the “public good” must be regularly presented so that the rationale for promoting good community standards can be understood as of real benefit to the spiritual and material well-being of society in general].

Report by Steve Hart, a freelance journalist. Tuesday Mar 1, 2011

For full story see: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10709506

Whimp’s threats to sue – appalling and should be ignored

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A banned company director has recently targeted a number of New Zealanders with threats of legal proceedings being issued against them if they don’t follow his demands – an action described by a promiment business leader today as appalling. [Read more…]