NZ resident wanted in US for alleged insurance scam

A New Zealand-based businessman is wanted in the United States over an alleged insurance scam for which is which his son has been arrested.

Godfrey (Geoff) Waterhouse, of Opua, Bay of Islands, a British national who has been in New Zealand for about two years, has strenuously denied any involvement in any scam for which a warrant for his arrest has been issued in the state of Georgia.

A director of Paihia Taxis and Tours Ltd, he also owns two companies with his son Robert, 36, who lives in Georgia and is in custody after his arrest earlier this month on insurance charges.

Businesses owned by the father and son -- Phoenix Brokerage Inc and Main Street Brokerage Inc -- were effectively shut down last week by Georgia Commissioner of Insurance John Oxendine who has issued "a cease and desist order".

Mr Oxendine alleged the Waterhouses had collected nearly U$S3 million in commercial vehicle insurance premiums over the past 2-1/2 years for non-existent coverage.

He alleged the premiums had not been passed on to an insurance company, Mark Solofa Insurance, of American Samoa.

Mr Waterhouse denies the claims, which have attracted significant media attention in Georgia as transport companies scramble to check their insurance.

Mr Oxendine has listed more than 150 companies throughout Georgia believed to be affected by the case.

"Georgia citizens have also been put at risk whenever they rode in a vehicle that was supposedly covered by these firms."

Godfrey Waterhouse would not comment yesterday, but referred inquiries to a website where he has published a lengthy rebuttal to the charges.

Responding to the allegation that money was not passed to Mark Solofa Insurance, Mr Waterhouse's statement said that he and his son never dealt directly with that company.

They had worked with an Auckland-based insurance company connected to Mark Solofa Insurance, he said. He has also queried where the $3 million figure has come from.

Mr Waterhouse said it was a "tragedy" that his son was now in jail on "trumped-up charges".

"He was arrested at the doctor's office where he was with his wife who had gone for her first ultrasound in respect of her new pregnancy," Mr Waterhouse said on the website.

Georgia district attorney Richard Milam has called for Godfrey Waterhouse to return to the US.

Mr Waterhouse said he would return to Georgia of his own free will and at his own expense, on conditions that he:

* Not be arrested on arrival.
* Have access to all documents seized by the insurance commissioner.
* Be able to access the company's office bank account.
* That his son Robert be released from jail.

"I can do more over here (New Zealand) than I ever could from a jail cell in Lamar county, Georgia," he added.

- NORTHERN ADVOCATE (WHANGAREI)

June 1 2006 update:
Allegations against the Waterhouses withdrawn