Guilty plea in $4.9 million fraud case
UPDATED October 26: Second of seven accused of defrauding Dunedin-based Motor Trade Finance pleads guilty charges brought by the Serious Fraud Office.
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UPDATED October 26: The second of seven men accused by the Serious Fraud Office of being part of a fraudulent motor-loans scam has pleaded guilty to nine charges of obtaining funds by deception.
Stewart Saunders pleaded guilty to one charge of obtaining funds by deception in the Auckland District Court today.
Clark Lewis pleaded guilty to nine charges on October 5 in the Auckland District Court to charges that carry a maximum sentence of seven years imprisonment.
Six other defendants who were involved in the scheme that allegedly defrauded Dunedin-based Motor Trade Finance of $4.9 million were also in court but entered no plea, the SFO said in a statement.
The SFO laid a total of 110 charges against seven individuals in August, with Mark Whelan - formerly a retail dealer for MTF - at the centre of claims million in loans were obtained in the names of family, friends and associates using non-existent assets as security.
The other individuals also facing charges for the role in obtaining illegal funds with Mr Whelan scheme are Richard Barnett, Jonathan Chiswell, Brett Donaldson and Karl Toussaint.
The five remaining defendants are next scheduled to appear in court on November 17.
A sentencing date for Mr Lewis has been set for 15 December.
Matt Nippert
Wed, 05 Oct 2011
Wed, 05 Oct 2011
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Guilty plea in $4.9 million fraud case
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