Man, 56, charged after hapu¯ funds go missing

The man is facing a total of 57 court charges, including 47 of theft in a special relationship.

A man has been summoned to appear in court in New Plymouth regarding allegations he stole a significant amount of money from a Taranaki hapu¯ over a period of five years.

The man is facing a total of 57 court charges, with the offending alleged to have taken place between February 2012 and April 2017.

A police spokesperson confirmed the 56-year-old man, who has yet to be officially named, faces 46 charges of theft by a person in a special relationship, six charges of forgery and five charges of obtains by deception.

He is due to appear in the New Plymouth District Court on March 15.

The two trusts named on the court documents are associated with Nga¯ti Te Whiti, a New Plymouth-based hapu¯ .

The charges follow a long-running police investigation prompted by a May 2017 complaint laid by the Nga¯ ti Te Whiti Whenua Topu Trust.

Discrepancies in its accounts were first noted in August 2016 and an internal investigation was launched before police were called in.

As this matter is now before the court, police would make no further comment on the case, a spokesperson said.

Last August, Ma¯ori Land Court Judge Layne Harvey directed a hearing be conducted to take a deeper look at what was happening within Nga¯ ti Te Whiti Whenua Topu Trust.

An independent review of the trust was ordered and a further Ma¯ori Land Court hearing is planned to take place sometime in April.