Former Billabong CEO convicted of fraud

Former Billabong CEO Matthew Perrin (left) has been convicted of fraud. Photos / News.com.au

Former Billabong CEO Matthew Perrin has been convicted of fraud and forgery offences after faking his ex-wife's signature to get a A$13.5 million (NZ$14m) loan from the Commonwealth Bank.

He mortgaged the family's A$15m property in Surfers Paradise without permission from his former partner Nicole Bricknell, who owned the house.

A jury on Tuesday found Perrin guilty of three counts of fraud and six of forgery, but was unable to reach a verdict on three further charges.

Last week the then-wife of Perrin told the court she thought he was going to admit he had been unfaithful again when he confessed, "I've done a lot of bad things".

But he replied "no, it's much worse than that" and told her "I've lost everything", including their A$15m, waterfront home.

Nicole Bricknell dramatically broke down in the witness box as she described how the multi-millionaire couple went belly-up after Perrin allegedly used the Surfers Paradise house as security for A$13.5m credit from the Commonwealth Bank.

Perrin and wife Nicole Bricknell allegedly made A$33 million from their investment in the popular surfwear company in the late 1990s.

They enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle for a number of years that included overseas holidays, $10,000-a-month living expenses and the gift of a $75,000 car to her husband, she told the Brisbane District Court.