Possible extended director ban for convicted fraudster

Michael Smith, also known as Weaver, Levertoff and Fresnell, enters Hamilton District Court. Photo / Christine Cornege

The Registrar of Companies is making the rare bid of extending the statutory company director ban of a convicted Waikato fraudster to 10 years due to the seriousness of his offending.

Michael Smith, also known as Weaver, Levertoff and Fresnell, was on Friday jailed for an extra two years on top of his earlier five year sentence for frauds committed while on bail awaiting trial.

And just when he thought his days in court were over, he'll be back next month to hear the Registrar of Companies application to have his statutory five year ban from being a director of a company extended to 10 years.

After a trial in the Hamilton District Court in April this year, Judge Robert Spear found Smith guilty of 21 of 26 charges of theft by a person in a special relationship. The offending spanned 2003 and 2004 and involved five groups of people.

He was jailed in July for his crimes - which totalled about $700,000 - that the judge described as "intentional" and "deceitful".

However, while he was awaiting that trial in January this year, Levertoff - as he was then known - changed his name to Smith.

He then set up two new companies, AAA Brands Ltd and AAA Services Group, operating out of Whangaparaoa.

One of the businesses it began was Elder Consulting - offering retirement planning for the 60 plus - and on March 13 clocked up $20,847.42 worth of advertising with NZME, publisher of the Herald.

However, the company soon put a stop to the advertising after being tipped off about his identity.

On April 17, just a week before his trial, he attempted to place more advertising with the company's Hamilton paper, Hamilton News, before saying he wouldn't be contactable as he was going on a "three-week holiday to the Caribbean" - when in fact, it was a trial in the Hamilton District Court.

Smith now has to serve a total jail sentence of seven years.

A Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment spokesman confirmed the Registrar of Companies did not seek prohibitions often.

However, they are considered when the matter is before the courts and the Registrar feels the director's activities justify a longer prohibition period than the automatic five years.

Smith's offending involved him to be a professional in a variety of areas, including accountancy, property investment and most recently, retirement planning.

Smith studied at university but it was unclear if he graduated, but Judge Spear ruled that Smith had "no appropriate qualification in either accountancy or property development/management and very limited experience in business matters".