This home on Mana Esplanade, Paremata, is owned by Marion Pearson, who was this year extradited to Australia over an alleged $4m theft. The property has been sold by mortgagee sale.
This home on Mana Esplanade, Paremata, is owned by Marion Pearson, who was this year extradited to Australia over an alleged $4m theft. The property has been sold by mortgagee sale.
A property owned by a woman who has been extradited over an alleged $4.5 million theft has been hocked off in a mortgagee sale by a finance company.
And a respected criminal lawyer is ensuring he’s not left out of pocket by lodging a caveat over his ex-wife’s homein Porirua.
Former financial adviser Marion Joan Pearson was extradited to Australia in August this year to face 113 counts of stealing related to the alleged misappropriation of A$4.1 million ($4.58m) from 13 clients over five years.
It followed a prolonged legal battle to remain in New Zealand, which ended when the Supreme Court ruled she was liable for extradition in May this year.
Pearson was once married to Wellington defence lawyer Paul Surridge, a respected barrister who has acted for a raft of high-profile clients, but the pair are now separated.
She is the listed owner of an art deco home on Mana Esplanade, Paremata, that was sold by mortgagee sale last week.
Documents obtained by the Herald list the vendor as the property’s first mortgagee, Basecorp Finance.
Caveats were registered against the title in 2023 by three finance companies – Basecorp, Plus Finance and Johang, the latter trading as Fifo Capital.
Surridge, who married Pearson in Australia in December 2012, told the Herald they separated “a long time ago” and he only learned of her legal problems “a short time ago”.
Criminal defence lawyer Paul Surridge (centre) appearing in Wellington District Court. Surridge has lodged caveats over the titles of two homes owned by his former wife Marion Pearson.
“It’s her business, it’s not my business. It looks pretty tangled doesn’t it? I haven’t heard from her for a long time.”
Asked whether he was owed money by Pearson, Surridge said: “A number of people are so I might as well notify that I might be one of those parties.”
Referencing the caveat, Surridge said: “You always do that to protect situations because there might be claims that someone else makes.”
The forced sale of the Paremata home is yet to settle, so its purchase price remains unknown.
He declined to say how much he was owed, stressing Pearson was a former partner and there were “some things that need to be resolved between us”.
“I’m not talking to you. This is personal business.”
He reiterated that the pair were no longer together.
“If you live a separated life, you don’t really know what the other person’s up to.
“When you hear about someone else’s other life that you didn’t know about, you’re sort of quite surprised.”
Caveats registered on second property owned by accused thief
The forced sale of the three-bedroom, 92sq m Paremata home is yet to settle, so its purchase price remains unknown.
However, it has a current CV of $740,000 and property records show it was last sold in 2009 for $380,450.
Harcourts, which listed the property, would not comment on the sale.
Basecorp Finance chief financial officer John Moody also wouldn’t comment, other than saying mortgagee sales were rare and “undertaken by us as a last resort”.
This Pukerua Bay property in Rawhiti Rd is owned by Marion Pearson, who was extradited this year to Australia.
Land Information NZ documents show another property owned by Pearson, in Rawhiti Rd, Pukerua Bay, also has caveats lodged against its title.
One of them was registered by Surridge last month. Others are registered by the same three finance companies, along with Prospa NZ, in 2023 and 2024.
The Herald understands that property was also listed for mortgagee sale recently but withdrawn after the mortgage debt was repaid.
Pearson accused of stealing more than $4m from clients
Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment.
She returned to New Zealand in July 2014, shortly after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) launched an investigation.
The ASIC permanently banned Pearson from providing financial services in Australia the following year.
An arrest warrant was issued for her in December 2018 and she has been fighting extradition since.
She is now in custody in Australia awaiting trial.
Companies liquidated by order of High Court
Meanwhile, two cleaning product firms owned by Pearson, which were once linked to Surridge’s father, Wilbur “Lofty” Surridge, have been liquidated.
Companies Office documents show Philip Moore & Co and Philip Moore & Co (S.I.) were placed in liquidation last week, with the matter being handled by the Official Assignee.
A High Court order obtained by the Herald has ruled the companies and Pearson must pay First Mortgage Custodians nearly $1.8m and granted vacant possession of a Wellington property on Abel Smith St.
Pearson and Surridge family members were involved in a bitter legal tussle during the 2010s.
When Lofty’s health began to decline in 2014, a dispute arose between his two children, Paul and Anne Surridge, and Pearson, who was then Paul’s wife.
It related to Lofty’s will and the ownership of various related entities.
A 2019 High Court judgment found that in 2014, while ill and distressed in hospital, Lofty assigned Pearson managerial control of his assets.
She was later appointed director of several family companies, sparking a challenge by Anne.
The 2019 decision declared Lofty’s 2014 will invalid, awarding Anne costs and disbursements of more than $100,000.
Months before that decision was released, Pearson became sole shareholder of both Philip Moore & Co firms and remains so today.
Lane Nichols is Auckland desk editor for the New Zealand Herald with more than 20 years’ experience in the industry.
Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
