Ex-principal will fight money laundering, fraud charges

Martin Elliott. Photo / Bay of Plenty Times

A former high-profile principal says he will defend dozens of charges against him that include money-laundering, false accounting and fraud.

Martin Elliott resigned from Hamilton's largest secondary school, Fraser High, last November after allegations that he potentially misused hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to pay for work on his homes at Te Kowhai and Papamoa, and other irregularities.

Yesterday, the 58-year-old appeared in the Hamilton District Court and faced 61 fraud charges, three charges of false accounting and one of money-laundering. He entered no plea but his lawyer, Mark Hammond, later told the Weekend Herald that he would defend all the charges when he goes back to court on December 7.

"He very strongly denies that he is guilty of these charges and that is pretty much all we can say."

Elliott, principal at the decile-4 Fraser High for 13 years, quit after a damning PricewaterhouseCoopers financial audit was leaked to the news media last year.

The 49-page report also claimed he illegally accepted extra salary, falsified invoices after using school money on personal properties and allowed large payments for companies with school-employed stakeholders to do work around Fraser High.

It said Elliott appeared to have used taxpayer money to pay for staff lunches, buy groceries, give unauthorised staff salary advances, write off an ex-employee's private loan and waive fees for children of school trustees.

PricewaterhouseCoopers also suggested payments for $2416 in "gifts" to Elliott's wife, Viv, and $2400 to his son for work "may warrant further investigation".

The present principal of Fraser High, Virginia Crawford, was away on a course yesterday and could not be reached for comment.

The chairman of the board of trustees, Craig Bates, said he could not comment on the matter because it was before the courts.

But in December 2008, the previous board held an investigation into Elliott's alleged wrongdoing and there appeared to be nothing illegal from an education or employment perspective.

An Education Review Office report released in August said a commissioner appointed to the school had resolved its governance and management issues and had "stabilised financial concerns".

It said Ms Crawford, who was appointed principal this year, had made a good beginning in managing relationships, rebuilding morale and confidence.

But the report said behaviour issues, high levels of non-attendance, stand downs and suspensions and raising below-average NCEA achievement levels remained significant challenges for staff.

Martin Elliott

1997: Takes over as principal at Fraser High School with a tough stance against drugs and gangs, and suspends 40 students.

1998: Starts Saturday school for students falling behind.

2001: Arranges for three students who admitted burning down the school's gym to talk in front of assemblies.

2004: Opens teen parent unit at school. Announces tilt at Hamilton mayoralty but his campaign is derailed when he is overheard referring to the size of an opponent's penis. Tells parents who can't afford school fees they can work them off doing chores around the school.

2005: Bans student cellphones at school.

2006: Says a Trade Me seller's attempt to sell crashed school bus parts is in poor taste and if he wants to make money "I'll arrange for a vehicle to be driven through his house, and I could sell bits of it for him".

2009: Accused of using school money to do work on own properties. Goes on extended leave while police investigate the claims. Resigns as principal of Fraser High School in November after a damning financial audit is released.