Wi Huata and his wife Donna Awatere-Huata. File photo / Hawke's Bay Today
The charitable trust defrauded by disgraced former Act MP Donna Awatere Huata was today put into liquidation owing $150,000 to the Inland Revenue.
The Pipi Foundation, set up to fund a reading programme for underprivileged Maori children, was placed in the hands of the Official Assignee at a
civil hearing in the High Court in Napier this morning.
Associate Judge David Gendall was told that the $150,000 owed to the department relates to outstanding GST and PAYE returns.
No representative of the foundation was present when the order was made to put the foundation's trust board into liquidation.
Hastings-based Awatere Huata and her husband, Wi Huata, were found guilty two years ago of defrauding the foundation of $80,000.
Both strongly denied any wrongdoing.
Awatere Huata used foundation funds to pay for a stomach-stapling operation and for school fees.
The foundation was set up to run an innovative reading programme devised by Awatere Huata for young Maori children. During a three-year period it attracted more than $840,000 in government funding.
Awatere Huata was convicted of five fraud charges and one of attempting to pervert the course of justice and jailed for two years and nine months.
She was paroled last September after nine months in jail, followed by just under three months on home detention at the family's property in Hastings.
Wi Huata was convicted on four counts of fraud and one of attempting to pervert the course of justice. He was sentenced to two years' imprisonment.
- NZPA
