Victims claim losses to alleged swindlers
Two Wellington business owners have been charged after allegedly fleecing customers for hundreds of thousands of dollars then trying to flee New Zealand.
When word got out that the pair had movers at their Hutt Valley home and office and had just bought six international pet crates, on Monday those who say they were ripped off went to stop them leaving.
Brooksfield co-founder Vincent Holloway, based in Christchurch, said he was still waiting on an order from last August.
The firm, known for its heritage-style townhouses, paid more than $300,000 for an order which Holloway said he was yet to get confirmation on and which had never arrived.
Those outside the house talked of ordering building products from the company, which was getting them made in the United States, but after full payment was made, contact stopped.
“There’s a lot of pissed off contractors and customers,” Sam Whitaker said outside the Hutt Valley home, where a moving van was in the driveway on Monday. His parents handed the company $140,000 for items that never arrived, he said. “I don’t think anyone is going to let them leave the country.”
On Monday police charged a 36-yearold Lower Hutt man with obtaining control over $140,159 by deception, while a 35-year-old Lower Hutt man had been charged with failing to carry out obligations in relation to a computer search.
They appeared in the Hutt Valley District Court yesterday where Judge Lawry Hinton remanded both on bail with terms including that they surrender passports, and not engage in business to do with windows, doors, garage doors or other joinery except on professional advice for the winding down of a business.
The two men entered no pleas and their names were suppressed until they appeared in court again next month.
Whitaker’s father, Darren Whitaker-Barnett, said the $140,000 of items were intended for a “dream home” in the Tasman region. He started to get worried the company owners would leave the country so sent his son to check out their home.
As his son arrived at the house the accused pair were leaving. He followed them and saw them go into a pet store and come out with six international pet crates. Sam Whitaker went back to the house on Monday and saw a moving van in the driveway.
He understood the pair had planned to fly to Canada, then on to the United States. He alerted other alleged victims, some who also came to stop them leaving. The accused men on Monday refused to comment when approached at the Hutt Valley home listed as the company address.
Tammy Lemire, allegedly $31,000 out of pocket, said her items were due in November after paying in August. By February, she got in touch with the United States company making the products and it had no record of her order.
She was going through the Disputes Tribunal to recover her money. Other alleged victims had been in touch and together, about $300,000 was owing, she said.
Builder Pou Savaiinaea, also outside their home on Monday, said his company was owed $20,000 for work it did that was never paid for.