Five Star directors sentencing delayed till December

Anthony Bowden walks from Auckland District Court after the Serious Fraud Office laid more than 100 charges against the former directors of failed lender Five Star Finance in August. Photo / Greg Bowker

Two former Five Star Finance directors who pleaded guilty to Securities and Financial Reporting breaches were due to be sentenced today but that hearing has now been adjourned until December.

Directors Nicholas Kirk and Anthony Bowden will be sentenced together with director Marcus MacDonald and Neill Williams, who is not listed as a director but was heavily involved in the running of the company on December 22.

MacDonald and Williams pleaded guilty to similar charges this month.

The Companies Office laid the criminal charges against Kirk, Bowden, MacDonald and Williams on July 8, 2008.

The charges relate to securities being offered and allotted to members of the public without a registered prospectus, investment statement or trustee appointed.

According to the Companies Office, MacDonald and Kirk were on the board of Five Star Debenture Nominee, in liquidation, and MacDonald, Kirk and Bowden were also on the board of Five Star Consumer Finance, in receivership.

All four directors were banned in April 2009 by the Registrar of Companies from holding board or management positions in New Zealand companies for five years.

Five Star went into receivership on September 5, 2007, while Five Star Debenture Nominee went into liquidation on November 5, 2007.

When the largest company in the group, Five Star Consumer Finance, collapsed in August 2007, it owed $63 million, of which $54.43 million was owed to debenture holders.

In total more than $90 million of investors' money is estimated to have been lost.

The Serious Fraud Office has also laid more than 100 charges against the directors concerning related party lending that took place between 2003 and 2007.

It is alleged they acted dishonestly and breached obligations under the trust deed.

They have not yet entered a plea.

The directors are due in the Auckland District Court on October 28 for a pre-committal hearing on the SFO case.