Forgery to divert debt, court told
A man described as an ‘‘environmental menace’’ for his rubbish and tyre stockpiling ventures allegedly forged signatures to reassign his debt to the names of others, a court has been told.
The judge-alone trial of Michael Benny Le Roy, 60, began in front of Judge Raoul Neave in the Christchurch District Court yesterday. He is facing six charges of forgery.
The charges relate to the alleged forging of two people’s signatures – those of a family member and an employee – to place them as directors and/or shareholders of companies with debt, or place their names onto personal guarantees, accepting responsibility for Le Roy’s debt or that of his businesses.
The first witness called by the prosecutor for the Ministry of Business and Employment (MBIE) yesterday was a relative of Le Roy’s who said she was made a director of Tyre Recycling Services New Zealand Limited, which had more than $20,000 in debt, in 2015 without her knowledge.
She only became aware she was a director of the company when she was contacted by debt collectors in August 2018, she said. When she became aware she was a director, she accepted she had signed documents at the request of Le Roy, but maintained none were accepting directorship or a shareholder’s role.
She claimed she was coerced by Le Roy to sign the documents and did not know what they were. She said she confronted Le Roy and requested ‘‘multiple times’’ to be removed as director.
She claimed Le Roy admitted to forging her signature and that he would ‘‘sort it’’. Le Roy accepted the handwriting was his, but maintained he did not sign them.
During cross-examination the woman was asked why she continued to sign documents at Le Roy’s request despite not knowing what they were. She said he was ‘‘intimidating’’ and she ‘‘didn’t feel like I had a choice’’.
The woman was asked if she signed the forms without reading them. She said she would have remembered those documents.
Le Roy’s defence lawyer claimed the woman knew she was becoming a director and attended a meeting with a lawyer, and Le Roy, to confirm this. The woman denied the meeting took place. A handwriting expert and Le Roy are expected to give evidence today.