Former Blues boss sentenced

Former NZ Wine Company chief executive Peter Scutts outside the Auckland High Court. Photo / Nick Reed

Former New Zealand Wine Company chief executive Peter Scutts will serve a sentence of 8 months' home detention after being found to have taken almost $65,000 in kickbacks.

Scutts, who is 59 and a former boss of the Auckland Blues rugby franchise, will serve that sentence at an undisclosed address.

He had references when appearing in the Auckland High Court today from former All Black coach Sir Graham Henry, broadcaster Murray Deaker, former Olympic rower Peter Masfen and high-profile businessman Michael Stiassny.

In a case brought by the Serious Fraud Office, Scutts was in May found guilty of 16 charges of dishonestly using a document and one Secret Commission Act charge of receiving secret reward for procuring contracts.

Scutts, a former New Zealand Wine Company chief executive, struck an agreement where Liquor Marketing Group would pay him A$1.00 for every supplied case of wine they sold.

Crucially in his case, Justice Mary Peters found this agreement was reached before New Zealand Wine Company signed a supply contract with LMG.

Scutts, who acted as a consultant for NZWC in 2009 and became its CEO in June 2011, would go on to receive about $64,000 from LMG.

The agreement with LMG established an offence under the Secret Commissions Act.

Under that law, someone breaks the law if they advise a person to enter into a contract with a third party and receives or agrees to receive a gift or reward from that third party without the original person's consent or knowledge.

Each dishonestly using a document charge represented an invoice sent to LMG to obtain the A$1 per case.

Today during his sentencing, Justice Peters sentenced him to 8 months' home detention.

Rachael Reed, the lawyer appearing for the SFO, said that Scutts' offending involved a breach of trust among the highest level.

While Scutts provided a large profit to NZWC, this did not ameliorate his offending, Reed said.

Scutts lacked any sign of remorse for his actions, except for the situation in which he found himself in, she said.

But the Queen's Counsel acting for Scutts, John Billington, said his client acknowledged his offending.

Scutts, in a letter to the court, said he has learnt that "money is the root of all evil" and that he won't make decisions in his future based on earning anymore than he needed to lead a modest life.

Billington said his client was attempting to "make good that which he had undone" in his own life and that of his family's life.

The defence lawyer told court that home detention was not a soft option, which Justice Peters then said Scutts and his family would find out.

In sentencing the former wine boss, Justice Peters read out snippets from his references, some of whom said they respected Scutts and found him to be a man of integrity.

Taking a start point of 18 months' imprisonment, Justice Peters gave a 2 month discount to Scutts for his previous good character.

She substituted that sentence with one of 8 months' home detention.

Justice Peters commented that a sentence only of community work would not have sent a sufficiently strong message to deter others from offending.