Esera fraud case adjourned

An Auckland man who admitted stealing $1.75 million from his employer, faking accountancy qualifications and forging documents to convince a bank to loan him $450,000 has had his sentencing date put off until May.

Trevor Ulialatea Esera, 33, was due to be sentenced in Auckland District Court yesterday on seven charges laid by the Serious Fraud Office, but the case was adjourned until May 27.

Esera pleaded guilty to seven charges of fraud.

He was employed as a systems accountant and IT specialist by gas company Rinnai NZ between 2001 and 2008.

He started off as an accountant, then worked his way up to IT manager before resigning in 2008.

The SFO said he falsified his qualifications in order to secure the position with Rinnai, and did not have a business or accounting degree as he had claimed. He submitted 350 false invoices to Rinnai between 2002 and 2008 from fictitious suppliers and fraudulently obtained $1,758,193.

An audit later uncovered a $48,000 invoice paid to a company for software that Rinnai had stopped using several years ago. Subsequent investigations found the company did not exist and the bank account the invoice was paid to was in the name of Esera's wife.

Two other fictitious companies were discovered in the audit.

In December 2006, Esera also created false documents which overstated his income to $160,000 so he could obtain a $450,000 mortgage.

- NZPA