Leo's dad asked for $90,000

Samuel Forrest and baby Leo . Taken from Facebook 18 FEB 2015 NZH 21Feb15 -

Sam Forest said as primary caregiver, he should get some of donated money.

The father of Down syndrome baby Leo Forrest asked for a $90,000 remuneration payment from the half-million-dollar fundraising campaign set up to support his son, according to correspondence seen by the Herald.

Samuel Forrest suggested as Leo's primary caregiver, he should be paid the $90,000 in the first year and up to $70,000 the next.

Mr Forrest says he is not being paid these amounts but declined to explain how he is being funded.

He has rejected claims that the money from donors worldwide is not being spent responsibly and that some is unaccounted for.

But he confirmed he has removed Trina McLachlan as a trustee of the Leo Forrest Trust.

Ms McLachlan told the

Herald

they fell out over the recommendation of a banker that larger withdrawals should require the signatures of both Mr Forrest and Ms McLachlan. She said Mr Forrest was against that and it didn't happen.

Samuel Forrest.

Mr Forrest said Ms McLachlan had been replaced by "an independent non-beneficiary custodian", whom he would not name.

He denied the falling-out was over how withdrawals from the fund were to be authorised but would not say what was behind it.

Ms McLachlan has concerns about how the money is being applied and earlier claimed the trust fund balance had dropped by $100,000 since A$350,000 was put in when it was set up this year.

"When Sam asked me to be the alternative trustee he told me he wanted me to give the opposing view in the best interests of Leo," she said. "The moment I did that at the bank, that's when it all went pear-shaped."

Mr Forrest has told the Herald there are investments Ms McLachlan doesn't know about. He has defended buying a 3-year-old car worth about $20,000 and flying business class with his family at a time when his wife, Ruzan Badalyan, was pumping milk for Leo.

Ms Badalyan gave birth to Leo in January in Armenia, where disabled babies are often put in orphanages.

Mr Forrest later said his wife had disowned Leo and he planned to raise him on his own in New Zealand.

He set up an appeal on the Go Fund Me site to help with expenses.

The couple have since reconciled and live in West Auckland.

The site recorded that more than $600,000 was raised, but Mr Forrest told the Herald that was incorrect, and the amount after fees of $40,000 came to "a little over $500,000" Australian at a time when the NZ and Australian dollars were near parity.

The Herald has seen correspondence that indicates that Mr Forrest authorised that the trust be set up with a payment of A$350,000. He indicated that he had held some funds back to buy items such as household furnishings and a car.

Baby Leo was to be the primary beneficiary of the trust, with Mr Forrest a discretionary beneficiary.

Mr Forrest asked that he be paid from trust money $90,000 in the first year and up to $70,000 in the second for his role as "primary caregiver".

On Wednesday afternoon, he told the Herald this was incorrect. He said he was unable to comment further about payments from the trust.

Mr Forrest confirmed in the correspondence that he planned to return to paid employment at the end of 2015. He requested that baby Leo's mother not be an appointor, trustee or beneficiary, "for her own protection. I will support her."

He had planned to set up a website to "chronicle our journey as a family with a DS [Down syndrome] child - but also have a proportion dedicated to raising funds in relation to our Armenian programmes for the trust".

Mr Forrest has previously said some of the money donated would be used for the only orphanage in Armenia that regularly took abandoned Down syndrome babies and to support parents there who chose to keep children with disabilities.

He told the Herald on Wednesday that this was now "on ice" due to corruption in Armenia.

Mr Forrest had hoped to raise $60,000 in the appeal, enough to bring Leo home and to care fulltime for him as a solo dad for a year, and was overwhelmed by the response.

He was the fourth generation of his family to belong to the Exclusive Brethren but broke away several years ago about the time his marriage to a church member foundered.

He has four children from that marriage, whom he has not seen since. In February, his former wife, Kylie Forrest, said it was his choice. "He still has legal access arrangements."

Herald interview with Samuel Forrest

Trina McLachlan claims she and you fell out over her wanting a dual-signatory requirement for withdrawals over a certain amount from the trust account. Is that right?

"No, no it's not."

What was the fallout over?

"I really can't say anything about this at the moment."

Definitely not over her wanting two signatures before bigger withdrawals could be made?

"Once again I can't comment."

I am going to report what she says.

"Well, that's okay."

You were going to set up some system of funding for Armenia. Is that still the plan?

"It's on ice ... until we can find suitable partners. The corruption in Armenia is endemic and the one place we were hoping to donate to, we discovered the director was pocketing any funds that are being donated ... we have already done quite a bit privately. We have made a number of donations, just not that particular one."

Privately? You mean directly to families or parents?

"That's right."

Is it correct that the trust was to pay you as primary caregiver $90,000 in the first year?

"I don't know anything about that."

How do you get funded, then?

"Once again, I can't comment on that. All I can say is that is not correct."

Was the arrangement that you were to be paid $90,000 in the first year and up to $70,000 the next year if necessary?

"There is a lot of speculation, Phil."