Susan Macken is taking action over a right of way.
Susan Macken is taking action over a right of way.
Americhip alleges Auckland home bought with embezzled funds.
Receivers have taken charge of a $2 million Mairangi Bay house allegedly bought with stolen funds and will rent out the property.
Kiwi Jason Dean is accused of embezzling US$10 million ($12.65 million) from Californian-headquartered Americhip in China, where he worked for nine years.
He is accused of buying a$2 million home on Brighton Terrace in Mairangi Bay, after returning to New Zealand in 2013 with his family, with part of the allegedly stolen money.
Americhip has been pursuing Dean to recover funds since 2013 and says it recently discovered $8.3 million was withdrawn from Dean's bank accounts within two weeks of the company confronting him about his alleged actions.
During a short hearing in the High Court last week, Americhip said these circumstances confirmed a significant risk of dissipation of assets and pushed for receivers to be appointed to the Mairangi Bay property, where Dean's daughter has been living.
The company had previously attempted to do this and in June said the house should be let out at $1500 a week rather than used as a "rent-free student flat".
At that time, Justice Simon Moore did not think this "extraordinary step" was justified.
However, Americhip last week convinced another judge, Justice Mark Woolford, it was the right move.
"If an order for receivership is not made and Americhip's claim is upheld, then Americhip will have been deprived of income to which it was entitled," he said.
As well as appointing receivers from KordaMentha, Justice Woolford said if Dean and his wife had not paid $37,283 in costs to Americhip in 10 working days, they would be barred from defending the action.
One of the receivers, Neale Jackson, told Business Insider the property would be rented out, but could not say how much for.
The property at 15B Brighton Terrace, Mairangi Bay, will be rented out. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Coupe admits charges
Auckland businessman Aaron Coupe - who owns a central city office building - has admitted running a business while bankrupt and concealing income from authorities.
Prosecutors told a judge this week they believe Coupe's offending is worthy of a prison term, although he won't discover his fate until sentencing later this year.
Coupe is now the sole director and shareholder of Greys Avenue Investments, which owns a building on that inner-Auckland street which houses coin minter and bullion dealer NZ Mint.
He became involved in the management of the company last December, a year after being discharged from bankruptcy.
It was his conduct during that bankruptcy which has seen him fall foul of the Official Assignee, which manages personal insolvencies.
On Wednesday, the 38-year-old pleaded guilty to seven charges in the Auckland District Court, including two for misleading the Official Assignee, three for concealing assets from the OA and two for managing a business while bankrupt. He entered no plea to a third charge of managing a business while bankrupt.
The judge did not enter convictions on the admitted charges, some of which come with a maximum penalty of three years' jail.
Coupe, according to allegations in the summary of facts, took part in the management of three companies, including Seastone Holdings which wanted to develop a gas station in Pukenui.
That company was directed by Coupe's mother, the summary alleges, and is now in liquidation.
Seastone Holdings was one of the companies which paid Coupe during his bankruptcy.
He also did not reveal income he earned while bankrupt, including for site management work on a Sky City project, the summary alleges.
Coupe is due to be sentenced in December.
The company that owns the building housing NZ Mint is led by Aaron Coupe.
Director takes action
BNZ, Treasury and Waterfront Auckland director Susan Macken has taken legal action against Harrison Grierson - a consultancy firm her lawyers previously blamed for the omission of a Remuera right-of-way.
Susan Macken lives on a $1.6 million home at the front of a site she subdivided in 2010.
When this project was taking place, the former World Bank economist intended for two strips of land to be created for a common driveway.
One of these strips would be part of the Macken property and the other would be part of the house at the back, now owned by Ronald and Kathleen Jervis.
Both parties were to have had mutual rights of way over the strips so they could both reach and park at their homes.
However, an accidental omission from the subdivision plan meant while the Jervises can use both strips, Macken can only use her one.
Although both sides involved "intelligent people", Justice Paul Heath said they were unable to resolve the situation in a "pragmatic matter" and ended up in a four-day High Court hearing last December.
Part of the problem, according to Justice Heath's decision on the issue, appeared to be that the Jervises had kept a gate at the end of their driveway.
As well as this, Macken requires the whole width of the driveway to get her car into the garage because of a tight angle.
The trustees that own Macken's property applied during last December's hearing for "reasonable access" to the site.
They wanted Macken to be allowed to drive directly into her garage and for vehicles to travel to the boundary of the Jervis' property, so items could be loaded or removed from the rear of her property.
The Macken trustees argued her property had become landlocked, but this was disputed by the Jervises.
Justice Heath, in his decision last year, took the view the property was not landlocked and mentioned there was pedestrian, bicycle and motorcycle access to it.
According to the High Court list this week, Macken has now taken legal action against Harrison Grierson Consultancy and the parties were scheduled to meet for a case management conference on Thursday afternoon.
Macken's lawyers wrote to the Jervises in August last year - detailed in Justice Heath's decision - and said the "omission of the right of way was in error and was the result of Harrison Grierson's mistake".
Business Insider could not contact Macken this week and Harrison Grierson's regional manager Mike Benning did not wish to comment.
