Law firm ex-manager on dishonesty charges

McClintock is also alleged to have made nine payments totalling $14,566 from the McElroys trust fund. File photo / NZ Herald

The general manager of a boutique law firm is alleged to have taken $370,000 from his employer and has appeared in court.

Peter James McClintock worked at McElroys Litigation.

The 63-year-old appeared before a registrar at the Auckland District Court yesterday.

He faces seven charges of accessing a computer for a dishonest purpose. Each carries a maximum term of seven years in prison.

He also faces seven charges of false accounting. Each charge carries a maximum term of 10 years in prison.

According to police charge sheets, McClintock is alleged to have made 52 false entries to the company's wage reports, totalling $230,000.

He is also alleged to have made six false entries in the company's accounts totalling $100,000.

Another charge relates to the allegation that he made a fraudulent transaction of $20,000.

McClintock is also alleged to have made nine payments totalling $14,566 from the McElroys trust fund to three different accounts.

Another charge relates to $7042 he is alleged to have transferred from company accounts to a BNZ account.

He is also alleged to have paid $2088 from company accounts to Vodafone, passing it off as legitimate company debt. Another payment of $303 used the company name Travelex to hide the transactions in the company's accounts.

McClintock is due back in court next month.

Defence lawyer Ron Mansfield declined to comment.

McElroys partner Matthew Flynn said McClintock had been dismissed, but it was not appropriate for him to comment on the case.