Heartbreak as Blue Chip boss avoids jail

Tauranga victims of the Blue Chip collapse were left heartbroken when company founder Mark Bryers escaped being jailed for a number of financial reporting charges.
Bryers was fined $37,500 and ordered to complete 75 hours of community work when he was sentenced on 34 charges by Judge Christopher Field in the Auckland District Court yesterday.
There were audible reactions of disappointment from a huge audience of investors, but only one of the charges carried a potential jail term. None of the charges related specifically to the collapse of Blue Chip.
Judge Field told Bryers the failure of the Blue Chip companies had caused enormous hardship for many people but he said the charges Bryers was being sentenced on were for inadequate financial reporting and failing to attend creditors' meetings. They were not related to the failure of the companies.
"You failed utterly in your obligations as a company director," he told Bryers.
"The sheer number of offences and the way in which it all came about represented an egregious lapse of duty."
The 200 pages of victim impact statements handed to Judge Field included one from retired Tauranga couple Carole and Keith Corner. The collapse of Blue Chip had a "devastating effect" on their lives. They were forced to sell their modern home in Matua to repay the mortgage to GE Finance.
The Corners withdrew money from their only other investment to purchase a small 1970s unit in Tauranga's worst suburb for crime, with police visiting their immediate neighbours eight times in the year since they moved in.
"Thanks to Mark Bryers and his vile scheme we cannot enjoy a normal simple retirement," Mrs Corner said. "We feel nervous and keep our doors locked at all times.
"We have to exist on our superannuation and the interest on the small amount we have in term deposit.
"We now depend on social welfare. We think twice before going to a doctor and new spectacles or visits to the doctor are out of the question."
The worst aspect was the deterioration in her husband's health, she said.
Another victim impact statement from 92-year-old Gwendoline Harrison said she was now being asked to pay interest payments of about $3000 a month after Blue Chip and its raft of companies went into voluntary liquidation.
"I was told this situation would never happen," she said. "All spare funds have been exhausted and I am now insolvent.
"I am technically under house arrest, with no available finance to enjoy life - living in fear of letters through the post, phone calls and strangers knocking at the door.
"My home has been stolen from me and I have nothing in return. I have lived in this home for 62 years and now I am told it no longer belongs to me and I can be put out at any time.
"I have heart problems brought on by the stress and I am having to make frequent visits to the doctor. I am depressed and have trouble with concentration and my memory is deteriorating.
"I can see no end to the stress ... I just live from day to day, struggling to survive."
Suzanne Edmonds, of Exposing Unacceptable Financial Activities, said after the sentencing she could not get over how Bryers had got off so lightly.
She said he could have received a two-year custodial sentence.
"This is not a deterrent for white collar criminals," she said. "If that is what they are going to dish out, it is an absolute joke.
"Give us a break. Does the legal profession and the people that run the finance world think the people of New Zealand are stupid?"
Ms Edmonds said it was heart-rending and heartbreaking in court.
Bryers was working in Australia as a consultant to a renamed former Blue Chip company, she said.