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Doug Rollerson wiped tears from his eyes yesterday as a judge spoke of a "destitute" man whose reputation had been shattered by his part in a charity money fraud.
The former All Black was convicted and discharged in the High Court at Auckland after earlier pleading guilty to two counts under the Secret Commissions Act.
The first charge related to presenting false invoices that were used for his business partners, Brent Todd and Mark Wijeyaratne, who operated pubs in Auckland, to receive kickbacks from the grant of gaming funds.
The court heard how Rollerson entered into a secret deal where Todd and Wijeyaratne kept 50 per cent of grants for the North Harbour Rugby Union.
At the time, Rollerson was the chief executive at North Harbour and was closely involved with applications for funding and dealing with grants.
The bogus invoices were for a variety of services Todd and Wijeyaratne supposedly performed including consultancy, speaking engagements, training fees and functions.
The second charge related to his presenting accounts to the North Harbour Rugby Union that he knew were likely to mislead the board.
Rollerson did not personally profit from the scheme. The maximum penalty was two years' jail or a $1000 fine, but the Crown accepted that jail wasn't an option. There was no point imposing a fine because he had been left financially destitute.
Rollerson had sought a discharge without conviction but Justice Rhys Harrison rejected that application, telling him he was "not satisfied" that a conviction would be out of proportion to his offending.
Outside court, Rollerson said: "I'm very disappointed with the outcome. What I did I did for the good for the union and never got any personal gain out of it all ... but that's the result."
Todd and Wijeyaratne were sentenced last year after they pleaded guilty to four fraud charges. Four others - league international Hugh McGahan, Alistair Arnott, Geoffrey Thompson and a woman who has name suppression - were also charged in relation to the scheme.
They will defend the charges at a trial later this year.
Justice Harrison said the community knew about Rollerson's offending and he didn't think he would struggle to find work. He said Rollerson's greatest loss was that of his reputation.
Character references supplied to the court - including one from former All Black captain Graham Mourie - told of his honesty and integrity.
His lawyer, John Haigh QC, said Rollerson hadn't gained a cent from his offending.
Justice Harrison said Rollerson had suffered from a "monumental fall from grace". He had lost his family home, a beach house, shares in a boat and a "modest" inheritance from his parents.
Serious Fraud Office chief prosecutor Anita Killeen said she would need to review the sentencing notes before deciding whether to appeal against the sentence.
Rollerson played eight tests and 16 matches for the All Blacks.
