Fraudster loses appeal in iwi investment case
A man who blew $3.1 million on bad investments, then tried to hide it all by making false letters, has failed to get his conviction lessened.
The Court of Appeal ruled yesterday the punishment dished out to Te Whitinga Mark Huirua was just.
Huirua is serving two years and 11 months’ jail for fraud charges relating to him losing $3.1 million of Ngā Rauru Kı¯tahi funds. He began work for the south Taranaki iwi investment company, Te Pataka o Rauru, in 2016. The company had a conservative investment strategy until he arrived and was heavily involved in drafting a policy giving him the ability to manage investments worth up to $26m.
He then created companies, which he solely ran and owned, to deal with investments, with one having a name mirroring large financial institution Society One to try to avoid suspicion. He used those companies to shift $3.1m to other locations, including a cryptocurrency brokerage and his own personal accounts. He lost $2.6m in trading and spent $500,000 on personal expenses, but did not let the iwi know, instead creating fraudulent investment letters. He created fake email addresses to send more fraudulent letters falsely confirming investment payments. When he was quizzed at a hui in November 2019, he admitted losing $3.1m. He said he invested on behalf of the iwi, had bad luck and offered to repay the money by working at lower wages.
In its decision, the Court of Appeal said Huirua wanted his sentence lowered because the offending was not done to intentionally deprive the iwi of funds, the losses were not directly attributable to his crimes and he did not financially gain from his crimes. He wanted greater discounts for remorse, previous good character and guilty pleas.
But the court found everything at sentencing was above board. Huirua having authority to make direct investment did not authorise him to set up deliberately deceptive companies. ‘‘There is certainly nothing . . . to suggest that Mr Huirua had the authority to pay himself any amount from iwi funds, let alone whatever amount he saw fit.’’
The discounts given for remorse, guilty plea and good character were found to be standard.