“He was buying stuff and giving us the secondhand goods,” the former director said.
In total, the Crown alleges the defendant spent about $111,000 paying off his personal loan, paying himself broker fees, and buying various personal items including weedkiller and spray unit, smoke alarm, grooming his car, Tigers Paw shower cleaner, Wet and Forget, and a pair of Hush Puppies shoes and a shoe care kit.
“There was no reason I can think of why [accused] would buy Hush Puppies care of [company].
“There was no clothing allowance.”
The witness said the defendant was paid a vehicle allowance of $550 a month to cover petrol or related expenses, and he never saw the weedsprayer in the building.
Asked by Crown solicitor Tom Sutcliffe if the premises had a shower, the man said it didn’t.
“The only facility it had was one toilet and one hand basin,” he said, adding he didn’t know why they’d need Wet and Forget.
“I have never seen the driveway cleaned up.”
The defendant told the jury on Monday he hadn’t committed any crimes.
“I’m simply carrying the can for a poorly governed company,” he said.
The accused said a “disconnect” had developed between himself and the board of directors.
The defendant, the name of the company, and its directors have interim name suppression.
The accused is fighting three charges of theft by a person in a special relationship and obtaining by deception between 2015 and 2018
Detailing how the company began, the director said he was approached by an associate about setting up a finance company, and as he and his wife had just sold their own company, they thought it would be a “great opportunity” to get involved.
“I knew [defendant] and all the others and felt quite comfortable with the arrangement at the time.”
Each of the four men put in about $20,000 for shares in the company, along with a further $180,000 each to generate a return on investment and provide security for the defendant operating the company.
However, it wasn’t long, perhaps four to six months, that he and his wife needed to put more money into the company.
“[In the end], it was $2.3 million.”
He’d never been involved in a finance company before, so he relied on the defendant to run it.
“When you put a lot of money in, you have to back the person running the company operationally ... I felt quite comfortable.”
The director said they had a broker working out of the same premises, and he would get paid a $600 fee for any work he did on a loan.
It’s alleged the defendant would end up banking the $600 himself or splitting it with the finance broker on site.
Asked by Sutcliffe about how the broker fees worked, the man said he would expect them to be paid out through a bank or bank transfer.
“But [accused] had told us it was quite common for broker fees to also be paid by cash ... I didn’t realise it was happening all the time.
“And if it was happening, I would have thought it would be properly recorded.”
The witness said he was unaware that a “significant” number of cheques were being banked and cashed.
“We had no idea.”
The witness said he was aware the defendant allegedly received half of the total $16,800 in broker fees, nor was he aware of a further $5,250 that was intended to go to the broker.
He also confirmed the company is no longer operating.
The trial, being overseen by Judge Noel Cocurullo, continues.
Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 10 years and has been a journalist for 21.
