Hygiene Foundation pair jailed
David Blake and Lance Ryan have been sentenced in an Auckland District Court jury trial to more than two years in prison for breaching the Companies Act and Crimes Act by running companies when prohibited.
Both had been involved in setting up and managing Hygiene Foundation, a company that claimed to provide hygiene certification to other businesses before it went into liquidation in 2013 with more than $700,000 in claims from creditors.
At the time, Blake was prohibited from taking part in the management of a company due to his previous convictions for managing a business when he was an undischarged bankrupt.
Blake was convicted of two charges of managing a company while prohibited. One of the charges relates to a second company Q Technology, and one charge was for promoting a company while prohibited.
He was sentenced to two years and four months imprisonment.
Ryan was convicted of three charges under the Crimes Act for being a party to Blake’s offending and was sentenced to two years and two months imprisonment.
Blake ran the companies with assistance from his wife, Hayley Blake, also known as Heesoo Byun or Heesook Byun, and Lance Ryan.
Hayley Blake and Ryan were recorded on the Companies Register as the directors of the companies, and controlled the shareholdings.
Blake is also known as David Colin Hughey, or David MorganBlake. Lance Jack Ryan is also known as Lance Jared Thompson, or Michael Darren Gibbs.
‘‘These individuals have a history of taking advantage of the public’s commercial goodwill, and breaching regulatory requirements to protect the public from incompetent business operators like them,’’ Registrar of Companies Ross van der Schyff said.
‘‘Their incompetence meant significant financial losses to creditors, but also in some instances, significant emotional harm to people.’’
As a result of the convictions, both defendants are prohibited from promoting or taking part in managing a company for a five years. Both are also undischarged bankrupts, and prohibited from taking part in managing a business.
The trial ran for 10 days in September in Auckland and after the jury found them guilty they were remanded in custody for sentencing on November 17.