Woman admits $1m fraud

A woman defrauded two companies of more than $1m and concealed her offending with a web of false computer entries and false documentation, Nelson District Court was told yesterday.

Clare Anne Snell, 48, a financial consultant of D'Urville Island, Marlborough Sounds, yesterday admitted three charges of fraudulently using documents for pecuniary advantage.

Serious Fraud Office prosecutor Dawn Roscoe said Snell, as director of two Christchurch-based consumer finance companies, fraudulently obtained $1,181,017, through the creation of false consumer loans and fraudulent use of company cheques, between May 2002 and March 2004.

Ms Roscoe said Carlton Capital Ltd, Capital Funding Ltd and investors remained $718,619 out-of-pocket.

Snell used money raised from 73 false loans for her and her partner's living expenses, to buy numerous vehicles and farm equipment and to refinance her false loans, Ms Roscoe said.

Nearly $500,000 of the money Snell fraudulently obtained can not be traced.

The court was told Snell, who previously lived on a farmlet in Christchurch, obtained $606,024 of the money while she was the sole director of Carlton Capital.

As consumer loan manager, Snell created 46 false loan contracts, using names and details of people she knew or who had applied for loans, Ms Roscoe said.

She also prepared false security documents for the loans using known property of the "borrowers", or random vehicles she saw on the street. The "borrowers" had no knowledge of the loans.

In early 2003, as Snell was having difficulty getting funds for loans for Carlton, she approached Graham Ward, a financial planner from Tauranga, to establish a new consumer loan company, Capital Funding.

Capital Funding was established in April 2003, with Snell as its co-director and sole shareholder. She also managed its consumer loan portfolio.

Between April 2003 and March 2004, Snell created 27 more false consumer loans, obtaining more than $500,000 from Capital, $210,465 of which was used to refinance earlier loans, Ms Roscoe said.

In July 2003, Carlton was placed into liquidation.

In March 2004, Snell visited Christchurch police and confessed after becoming concerned the debt recovery manager would approach individuals who had false loans, Ms Roscoe said.

In an interview with the Serious Fraud Office, Snell said she had borrowed the money intending to pay it back.

But Snell admitted attempting to conceal her offending through a web of false computer entries, providing false documentation to investors and creating another company to refinance the fictitious loans, Ms Roscoe said.

Acting defence counsel Herman Roose said Snell had made a clean break by admitting the charges.

Judge Paul Whitehead remanded Snell in custody until March 15 and warned, given the seriousness and breadth of Snell's offending, she was likely to be sentenced to jail.

- NZPA