Anthony John Hendon, 54, who played a "lead role" in an advertising scam, was this morning sentenced in the High Court at Wellington.
Hamish McNicol discusses the fall out from the ad scam verdicts on NBR Radio, and on demand
The lead offender in a magazine advertisement scam worth more than $750,000 has been sentenced to four years in jail.
Anthony John Hendon, 54, appeared in the High Court at Wellington today after earlier pleading guilty to and being convicted of 24 charges brought by the Serious Fraud Office of reproducing documents with intent to cause loss.
Justice Jillian Mallon sentenced Hendon to four years' imprisonment.
The crime carried a maximum 10-year prison sentence.
Hendon was one of six people arrested following a joint enforcement agency operation established in May, 2012, led by the Serious Fraud Office.
The investigation, involving seven different agencies and 67 staff, was labelled Operation Edit.
Hendon played a “lead role” in the scam, successfully obtaining more than $750,000, the SFO says.
Overall, it attempted to obtain more than $1 million from about 1000 victims.
The scam involved grossly misrepresenting the number of magazines advertisements from prospective clients would be printed and distributed in.
To encourage the advertisers to buy in, the magazines were titled in a way that suggested support of worthwhile causes, such as road safety, parenting or family support.
SFO director Julie Read says Hendon’s sentencing represents another milestone in “a very successful” operation.
Yesterday, two people were found guilty for their part in the scam but no convictions have been entered yet.
Noelene Kay Banton, 61, and Johannes Hendrik Maria Middeldorp, 63, were found guilty of seven charges of dishonestly reproducing documents, and acquitted on two charges.
They will appear for sentencing on June 12, at which point convictions will be entered.
Two other defendants were sentenced to home detention and community work respectively after pleading guilty.
