Boss taken for ride by staff over fake papers, says lawyer

Rebecca Li

Reddix Productions owner Rebecca Li might have been guilty of running a disorganised business, but it was her staff who were responsible for a fraud and forgery racket run from her offices, her lawyer told the Auckland District Court yesterday.

"She didn't do this, and she didn't know it it was happening," said defence counsel David Young. "In short, she was being used.

"Call her messy, call her a bad manager, call her what you like, but my client was being taken for a ride."

Li, 35, faces 49 counts of fraud and forgery after a police raid on her Crummer Rd property in June 2004 recovered scores of fake university degrees, forged corporate seals and other bogus documents.

She originally faced 51 charges, but after lengthy legal argument yesterday two counts of conspiracy to commit counterfeiting were dropped.

Two counts of conspiracy to commit forgery were also amended to representative charges of forgery.

Li denies all the charges and blames dishonest staff for the alleged offending, carried out over seven years from 1997.

She declined to give evidence in her own defence yesterday but called on her brother, Stephen Li, to do so. Mr Li, 34, with an interpreter standing by, told the court he shared business premises with Li at Crummer Rd, a property owned by their father, Thomas Li.

Mr Li ran a model shop from the property, and he and Li paid their father $1000 a month in rent, when they could afford to.

He said his sister normally employed two to three people, generally aged around 30.

Police allege forged documents were found on computers around Crummer Rd, and Mr Li yesterday confirmed a number of networked computers on the premises.

They were networked for internet access, with no passwords.

"There are no passwords because we are all family," he said.

He also gave evidence of his sister's slovenliness about the property.

"All the tools and all the floor was dirty and messy. If you asked her to get some power tools, she couldn't find them. She doesn't tidy up by herself."

Mr Li said his sister's financial position appeared sound.

She had no debt, owned two cars and didn't wear a lot of jewellery.

"She doesn't spend a lot of money."

He said he never saw his sister make or sell any forged or fraudulent documents.

Mr Li was the only defence witness called.

Closing arguments were to be heard today, before a summing up by trial Judge Roderick Joyce.

The jury would then retire to consider its verdict.