Jail for stealing $1m from trust
Sibling duo took money from Far North Ma¯ ori fund
Aformer trustee of a Far North Ma¯ ori fund who stole more than $1 million with the help of his sister — splurging the money on a lush lifestyle and in the process severely damaging the financial hopes of more than 400 trust owners — has been jailed.
On day four of a High Court trial
in May, Stephen Henare pleaded guilty to five charges of theft by a person in a special relationship and one count of perverting the course of justice.
The 62-year-old was sentenced yesterday to five years and two months’ imprisonment by Justice Matthew Muir.
Henare was a trustee of Parengarenga 3G (P3G) Trust and was appointed with his sister Margaret Dixon alongside five other people in June 2012.
The trust, which helped underprivileged people, managed a 512ha forest block on Ma¯ori land in Tai Tokerau District.
The court heard during trial that the siblings took control of P3G with about $1.08m in cash assets in August 2012, but in July the following year the fund was left with just $150.
By January 2014 there was only $13.41 left, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which brought the charges, earlier said.
SFO director Julie Read said in a statement that the fraud “had a devastating financial, social and emotional impact on the 400 current and future beneficial owners of P3G Trust”.
Michael Heron, QC, told the jury that Henare and Dixon had splurged the money on themselves.
About $600,000 was transferred into Henare’s own family trust and nearly $200,000 was moved into his personal account, Heron said.
More than $70,000 was also sent to Dixon’s account and $100,000 to her family trust, the court heard.
A further $100,000 was transferred to another trust.
As a result of the depleted funds, P3G could no longer afford to maintain its forests.
The problems plaguing P3G were taken to the Ma¯ori Land Court in January 2013 after an application was made by one of the trustees to remove Henare from his position.
But at the Ma¯ori Land Court hearing Henare perverted the course of justice when he lied after being asked about the health of the trust’s account. “Dixon and Henare told the court there was a million dollars or so on deposit, in fact at that time there was much, much less — something like $400,000 had already gone out of the account,” Heron said.
“Sadly when the trust ran out of money in July 2013, Henare sold the carbon credits and transferred money into his own account,” Heron said.
Dixon, who was due to give evidence for the SFO during at her brother’s trial, has already been convicted and sentenced to home detention for her part in the fraud.
The court heard at Dixon’s sentencing her personal gain was $130,836.