Home at centre of fraud case to be sold
The sprawling beachfront home at the centre of the illegal payment which brought down Sir Nga¯ tata Love is up for sale, as part of a bid to recover money for his victims.
Harcourts is promoting the Plimmerton, Wellington, address as a ‘‘much admired prime waterfront property’’.
The listing makes no mention of the history of the site, which is being sold by the Official Assignee under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act to protect the value in the face of rising mortgage arrears, for a possible payment to Love’s victims.
Described on property records as a ‘‘1990s superior dwelling’’, the property sits on 1985 square metres of beachfront land.
‘‘This charming, executive home offers buyers an opportunity to secure their own beachfront sanctuary,’’ the listing states.
It has a rateable value of $1.87 million, marginally more than the $1.8m that Love and his former partner, Lorraine Skiffington, paid for it in 2006.
Love was jailed in late 2016 after a High Court trial found him guilty of obtaining by deception funds which rightly belonged to the Wellington Tenths Trust.
The trial went ahead after years of legal wrangling, culminating in a process to determine whether Love, who was suffering from dementia, should stand trial. It was ultimately determined he would face a single charge.
The High Court trial covered how Love arranged for a payment of about $1.4m from developers wanting to build on Tenths Trust land to be made to a company owned by his then partner, Skiffington.
After being funnelled through a Wellington accountancy firm, the money was quickly used to pay down the loan on the Plimmerton home, which the couple had recently jointly purchased.
Love was released from jail around the time of his 80th birthday in September, after the parole board found he posed little risk because of his age and illness, although any contact with the organisations he used to run required the permission of his parole officer.
Skiffington, who was granted a stay of prosecution on account of her ill-health, died in September, aged 59.
Assuming the house is sold, Westpac will be repaid the money it is owed, with the balance held by the Official Assignee, pending court proceedings to determine whether the remainder should be paid to Love’s victims.
The property is due to be sold at auction on December 14.