Jailed lawyers' have appeals dismissed

Appeals by two lawyers against their convictions and sentences for fraud were dismissed by the Court of Appeal today.

Murray Athol Osmond, 54, of Cambridge, and William Raymond Harris, 59, of Hamilton, were convicted of defrauding finance company Dorchester Finance Ltd of $1 million following a three-week jury trial in January.

Osmond was jailed for two years and nine months, and Harris for two years and three months in March.

A third person, Raymond Stanley Smitheram, had appealed against his conviction of fraud but abandoned the appeal. He was earlier sentenced to 15 months in prison.

Osmond and Harris claimed their sentences were manifestly excessive compared with Smitheram's.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said that in 1998 Osmond, who was in business as a consultant in Cambridge, and Harris conspired to defraud Dorchester Finance over the financing of a $2.8 million quarry purchase.

The SFO said the pair, and former Waikato businessman Smitheram, 72, now of Pukekohe, obtained the finance on the basis of a non-existent buyer contribution.

The judges said the disparity of the sentences of the two accused when compared to Smitheram's was not manifestly excessive although Smitheram's sentence seemed somewhat lenient.

The appeal was heard by Justices William Young, Hugh Williams and Geoffrey Venning on July 17.

- NZPA