Greener on other side

Dennis Brown is happy to join Auckland City Lawns. Photo / The Aucklander

Green Acres' troubled Auckland lawnmowing business has been cut to the roots, with up to 40 operators expected to walk out after one franchisee was jailed for ripping off hundreds of immigrants.

In November, Keith Lapham was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison for running a "ponzi" scheme - a conviction that proved a body blow to the Green Acres brand.

The former Green Acres Auckland area manager, Ian MacDonald, has now taken the bulk of the region's lawnmowing business into a new firm called Auckland City Lawns. MacDonald said he couldn't comment on the split while court action was ongoing.

But former Green Acres mowerman Dennis Brown said he was happy to join the new outfit.

"I was with Green Acres for 18 years," he said. "Twenty-two of us have gone to Auckland City Lawns and another 20 or so have either given up or are going out on their own."

Lapham pleaded guilty in the Auckland District Court to three charges of obtaining by deceit, which were laid by the Serious Fraud Office.

Lapham obtained between $1.5 million and $3.8m from 256 people - mainly immigrants - promising them decent guaranteed returns on their investments for providing laundry services as part of the Green Acres ironing franchise.

Auckland City Lawns sent a statement to previous Green Acres customers in the past few weeks. "Almost all of the 47 Auckland Central operators have chosen to conclude their association with Green Acres," it said. "This change has come about due to a combination of factors [and] the ongoing negative publicity surrounding the Green Acres brand."

Meanwhile, ironing franchisees ripped off by Lapham are struggling to repay loans raised to buy their bogus business opportunities. Ketan Trivedi, a spokesperson, said they were sueing Green Acres for $8m.

Green Acres Franchise Group director Andrew Chisholm said he would relaunch a new Auckland lawnmowing franchise next month. "The ironing issue was three years ago - we worked bloody hard to make sure that damage was minimised. It's history now."