"She has accepted that she failed to perform her role as a director and did not take the steps required to ensure she was aware of the true position of the companies." – FMA
The wife of former Dominion Finance director Terry Butler, who died in March, has pleaded guilty to misleading investors ahead of her trial next month.
Ann Butler, who was also a director of the collapsed financier, pleaded guilty to seven Securities Act charges, which include making untrue statements in a Dominion Finance Group prospectus and investment statement, and making untrue statements in a North South Finance prospectus and investment statement.
She will be sentenced on June 14.
The charges, brought by the Financial Markets Authority, will now be defended by Mrs Butler's fellow directors Vance Arkinstall, Richard Bettle, Robert Whale and Paul Forsyth.
FMA head of enforcement Belinda Moffat says Mrs Butler is the 27th finance company director to be convicted in proceedings taken by FMA.
"She has accepted that she failed to perform her role as a director and did not take the steps required to ensure she was aware of the true position of the companies."
The June trial follows the February trial of three Dominion Finance directors on separate theft charges brought by the SFO.
Dominion Finance boss Paul Cropp, 49, was found guilty of theft in relation the collapsed financier last month – the first chief executive to be convicted in the recent finance company trials. The theft related to related-party lending of about $13.57 million in breach of Dominion's trust deeds.
Cropp has been remanded on bail until sentencing.
Two other men – Robert Barry Whale and a third company executive who has name suppression – were found not guilty of the theft charges.
Mr Butler avoided the trial because he had cancer. He died on March 28.
Dominion Finance Group was placed in receivership in 2008, owing almost 6000 debenture holders $176.9 million. North South Finance was placed in receivership two years later, owing 3900 debenture holders $31 million.
Both companies were subsidiaries of NZX-listed Dominion Finance Holdings, which was placed in liquidation in 2009. They offered property and commercial loans.
Receivers have estimated recoveries of 10c-25c in the dollar for debenture holders in Dominion Finance Group and of 65c-70c in the dollar for those in North South Finance.
