Michael Wehipeihana, pictured, was sentenced alongside Leonard Ross today in the High Court. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Michael Wehipeihana, pictured, was sentenced alongside Leonard Ross today in the High Court. Photo / Brett Phibbs
A company director and property developer have been jailed for defrauding ANZ of more than $40 million to develop a downtown Auckland hotel.
Leonard John Ross, 51, and Michael James Wehipeihana, 46, were found guilty by a jury in July of obtaining by deception and using fraudulent documents.
They did so to gain a loan from ANZ for the now-defunct company Emily Projects in an effort to develop the Waldorf Celestion Apartment Hotel.
Their nearly nine-week trial began at the start of June in the High Court at Auckland.
The duo were convicted on three charges of obtaining by deception and two representative charges of using forged documents.
Today, Justice Rebecca Edwards sentenced Ross to four years and four months' imprisonment, and Wehipeihana was jailed for four years and three months.
Ross was the director of Emily Projects and held a 55 per cent majority stake in the company. Wehipeihana was a property developer and held 35 per cent of the shares.
They were two of four men charged over the scheme which occurred at the height of the global financial crisis in 2008 and 2010.
"He acted with the intent to deceive ... Mr Ross must've known that all of the sales were false," he said.
Justice Edwards agreed and called Ross the "architect of the deception".
At Slack's sentencing in September last year, Justice Kit Toogood said Slack made personal assurances to ANZ which he "knew were blatant lies" and used his position as a solicitor to gain the bankers' trust.
Slack's law firm and the firm he was working at during the time of his offending has been suppressed. In March he was struck off the roll of barristers and solicitors.
In a pre-sentencing report, Ross said he was naive to place his trust in people like Slack.
"He must take responsibility for his actions and not seek to shift the blame entirely to Mr Slack," Dixon said.
Lawyer Timothy Slack had earlier pleaded guilty and was sentenced to home detention. Photo / Supplied
Ross' family was upset about media coverage of his offending.
However, Dixon explained it was not a result of the SFO broadcasting details of his case but rather the Herald approaching the SFO, which simply confirmed an investigation was under way.
But Justice Edwards did prevent the Herald from photographing Ross in court today and suppressed her reasons for doing so.
Rachael Reed QC, Ross' counsel, said her client had enormous support in "all aspects of his life".
The public gallery for the sentencing was overwhelmed with supporters for Ross and Wehipeihana. Some stood outside the courtroom looking in, while others filled the jury box.
Many of the pair's friends and family were named as purchasers of the hotel's apartments, the court heard.
Reed said her client "wished he had never committed the offending" and had made different choices.
"He will never be before this court again," she said.
However, in a letter to the court Ross characterised his offending as simply "cutting corners".
The group used fake documents to deceive the bank and gain a significant loan to develop Auckland's Waldorf Celestion Apartment Hotel. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Ross wished to return to his family in Australia, the court heard.
However, Reed said, he would be forced to remain in New Zealand during his parole period and would need to meet a good character test if he was to be allowed back into Australia.
"It appears he would not meet a good character test unless he is sentenced to a term of imprisonment under 12 months," she said.
"The SFO is committed to investigating and prosecuting this kind of offending to maintain the integrity of the mortgage market for the benefit of honest borrowers."
