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TAURANGA - The former chief executive of Rowing New Zealand told police he used forged documents to speed up the grant application process.
Craig James Ross, 52, pleaded guilty in Tauranga District Court this morning to nine fraud charges. He will be sentenced on July 25.
Rowing NZ received nearly $370,000 as a result of the offending.
The prosecution summary of facts obtained by NZPA - but not read out during today's brief court appearance - reveals that Ross maintained he was acting "at all times" for the benefit of the sport and the measures he took were "short cuts."
Signing application forms in the names of others and creating board resolutions to apply for funding when there had not been a meeting simply saved time, which he regarded as a precious commodity.
Police said Ross obtained no personal gain from the money he obtained for rowing.
According to the summary, he told investigators he was under pressure to raise funds for both Rowing New Zealand and the 2010 world championships, to be held here.
Invoices he created to account for boat purchases were so that he could finalise one grant and move onto the next. Funders required the accountability process to be completed for existing grants before they would consider further applications.
Ross said he believed the funds could not be used to buy equipment sourced from overseas. That was why, in his mind, he could not legitimately use the money to purchase Italian manufactured boats.
A married man with a family, the defendant expressed remorse for his actions and regretted the impact they had had on Rowing NZ and others involved, police said.
Ross was acting chief executive of the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union and the chief executive of Sport Bay of Plenty for 11 years before his appointment by Rowing NZ in October 2003.
Based in head office at Karapiro near Cambridge, one of his principle responsibilities was to secure funding for rowing from various sources. These included sponsorship, marketing arrangements and sourcing contributions from community funding organisations, often labeled as gaming trusts.
Ross resigned in August last year after irregularities were found in applications he had forwarded to trusts.
A police investigation established that nine applications to four different funding agencies between November 2004 and March 2007 to help Rowing NZ pay for travel, apparel, boats and oars contained 34 false documents which amounted to forgeries.
The documents were submitted at either the initial application stage or at the subsequent accountability stage.
In some cases a second signature was forged, as was the Rowing NZ chairman's signature on extracts of minutes of meetings indicating the board had resolved to apply for funds for particular purposes. False quotes and false invoices from various suppliers were also produced, according to the summary of facts.
The nine charges alleging Ross knowingly used forged documents relate to funding applications made to Pub Charity, the New Zealand Community Trust, Southern Trust and the Community First Foundation.
Ross said when he resigned the top job that all funds were used for genuine rowing purposes and for the benefit of the sport. He did not obtain any personal benefit or gain.
- NZPA
