Former Lion Foundation boss guilty of fraud

File photo / NZH

A former chief executive of the Lion Foundation was today found guilty of three fraud charges after he fiddled the books and wrote off more than $500,000 worth of debt for an Invercargill pub.

David John Conroy was found guilty by a jury in Auckland District Court of one count of false accounting and two counts of false accounting by an employee.

Conroy joined the Lion Foundation, a charitable organisation that owns gaming machines, in April 2001 as financial controller and later became chief executive.

The charges against him related to three journal entries made between 2002 and 2004 in the Lion Foundation accounts, which had the effect of writing off almost $520,000 from a debt owed by the Strathern Inn in Invercargill.

Conroy made the journal entries without the knowledge or approval of the board in order to hide the true amount owed to the foundation by the Strathern Inn.

He was remanded on bail for sentencing on April 13.

Today's decision brought to an end a very long and demanding case for the Serious Fraud Office, its chief executive Adam Feeley said.

"This case is illustrative of the time and dedication required of a serious fraud investigation, and there are simply no shortcuts if a matter is to be brought to a successful conclusion," Mr Feeley said.

Sharon Ogilvy, who owned the Strathern Inn, has already pleaded guilty to charges of theft by a person in a special relationship and theft by a person required to account.

- NZPA