Ponzi-accused Bradleys bailed until Feb

Mike Bradley File photo

Auckland couple Michael and Jacqueline Bradley were bailed again this morning on charges of defrauding investors in their B'On Financial Services company of $15 million.

The defendants did not enter a plea and are due back in the Auckland District Court on February 25.

Both Bradleys were in the dock this morning when Judge Jan Doogue extended their bail.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has laid 87 charges under the Crimes Act against Michael John Bradley and his wife, Jacqueline Lyndsay Bradley.

They were co-directors of B'On Financial Services.

The SFO alleges the couple took investors' money -through their company - to repay earlier investors and fund their own lifestyle.

In December both defendants were forced to surrender their passports to police and were ordered not to speak to any Crown witnesses.

SFO chief executive Adam Feeley said that after an extensive investigation, the SFO identified 85 investors but the charges relate to 24 investors who invested a total of $14,423,702 as well as A$841,303 ($1.1 million) between April 2003 and November 2009.

The SFO said those who invested with the Bradleys did not have their funds invested in any "meaningful way".

It said the money was primarily used to repay previous investors but also for business running costs and personal spending.

The couple's financial advisory firm, Bradley & Bradley, operated from the Vero Centre in central Auckland.

It was placed into voluntary receivership in December 2009, and in July 2010, receivers BDO Auckland, told investors they had not received satisfactory explanations from the directors about the state of the firm's finances.

Investors were told at the time it was unlikely there would be any payout, despite the sale of the pair's mansion in Remuera.

The Bradleys' home in Bassett Rd was sold in July for more than $4 million. However, it was still listed as their address on court documents yesterday.

The couple did, however, have a substantial bank mortgage and their lawyer also had a mortgage over the house. At the time, BDO said it was unlikely there would be any money left over.

The Companies Office began investigating last year after complaints from investors, and four firms jointly run by the couple were placed in liquidation.

They were B'On Financial Services, B'On Financial Services NZ, Bradley O'Neill Financial Planners and Bradley O'Neill Financial Services. Another company of which Mike Bradley is the sole director, Rosehip Nominees, was also placed in liquidation.