Second ACC property fraudster given home detention
A second fraudster involved in ACC properties has been sentenced to home detention.
ACC property fraudster Gregory Alexander Hutt (54) has been sentenced to 11 months' home detention.
Hutt and his companies were the owner and developer of a Whangarei site at 13 Walton St which is currently leased to ACC.
He was also formerly a director and shareholder of HiTech Commercial Interiors and is the second person to plead guilty over ACC property fraud.
He was a co-offender with Malcolm David Mason (51), who was sentenced last year to 11 months' home detention and ordered to pay the courts $160,000 he had corruptly received.
Mason’s role was to procure premises for ACC, tendering for their development and negotiating lease terms.
The charges arose after ACC reviewed its leases.
Evidence presented to the court showed Mason passed details of ACC intentions to Hutt.
This information allowed Hutt to buy the site, which Mason subsequently recommended to his superiors as being suitable for the new ACC branch.
Mason’s influence at ACC ensured Hutt received the opportunity to develop the new building and agree a long-term lease with the ACC, the Serious Fraud Office says.
Once the lease was secured, Hutt sold the building for a profit, paid Mason $160,000 from the proceeds in July 2009, and set up a dummy bank repayments to try and cover it up as a loan.
Chris Hutching
Fri, 15 Jun 2012
Fri, 15 Jun 2012
© All content copyright NBR. Do not reproduce in any form without permission, even if you have a paid subscription.
Second ACC property fraudster given home detention
21436