Career con artist to serve more jail time
An investment fraudster who lived a “lavish lifestyle” off the $1.4 million he stole from his clients, including an Olympian, has had six months added to his already lengthy prison term.
Career con artist Stephan Grant Goodburn was imprisoned for six years and two months last July after a Serious Fraud Office (SFO) inquiry into his offending from 2005 to 2015.
However, the Herald can reveal, while the Auckland man was behind bars more allegations surfaced in June over a $435,000 fraud.
The 56-year-old admitted the newly uncovered offending and had a further six months added to his sentence last month.
Goodburn’s life of trickery and deceit drew at least five of his friends and associates into a series of get-richquick schemes and fake investments.
He was using the stolen cash to fund a rich lifestyle of fast cars and posh apartments.
In total he had acquired about $1.4m from his frauds.
Most of Goodburn’s offending was based on false business dealings with people who trusted him, including his friends, partners, and an Olympian.
He even conned a judge in a bold and successful effort to receive a lighter court sentence. Sometimes he used false documentation to give credence to his business life, much of which remained a mystery because of his labyrinth of lies. During Goodburn’s High Court sentencing last year, Justice Matthew Downs said the fraudster was “motivated by greed” to fund a “lavish lifestyle”. He has nearly 20 previous convictions for deception in New Zealand and earlier duped a judge during his second sentencing for fraud in a bid to dodge prison time.