[ad_1]
Judge Murray said: “There will be professional consequences.”
Sam Lowery, an attorney for Peters, said his client had abandoned his bid to remain anonymous because he realized it had little chance of success and that he had lost his job as a result of the prosecution.
Francis Peters’ online resume shows he worked as Fonterra’s in-house employment lawyer until he was charged in late 2023.
“He’s accepted what he did. He’s here to take responsibility. It’s a humbling day for him,” Lowery said.
Lowery said his client got involved in the scheme because he was trying to recover $100,000 he had loaned to his brother, Gerald, who offered to trade the property in lieu of repaying the loan.
Lowery alleged in court that Gerald Peters “was, in everyone’s opinion, the real culprit in this case.”
In sentencing, Judge Murray said he did not accept that explanation and said Peters was a practising lawyer at the time of the offences, which was an aggravating factor.
“You should know better,” the judge said.
“I don’t think you are blindly following your brother. Instead, you are blinded by greed.”
Crown prosecutor Honor Lanham told the court she supported a slight reduction in sentencing because of Francis’ assistance with the SFO investigation.
She said it was unlikely Francis would be called to testify in court but that he had voluntarily been interviewed after being charged and had agreed to waive confidentiality on some legal documents related to the property transaction.
Francis is one of five members of the Peters family who were charged by the UK Serious Fraud Office late last year with a series of complex mortgage and investment fraud schemes that netted $8.6 million.
Prosecutors allege the scams involved six residential properties, using fake buyers, quick resales and false information to inflate prices and raise large mortgages. They also allegedly raised $1.8 million from an investor, partly with forged insurance policies that purportedly would be invested in private banks overseas.
Francis was charged in connection with only one of the real estate transactions, and faced only four of the 37 charges he faced in the entire case.
Francis’s lawyer, Lowery, said the remaining $370,000 mortgage from the deal had been “diverted” to an account in Singapore.
Lowery suggested the money had been lost: “Yes, Westpac was defrauded, but so were my clients.”
Francis’ mother Serene, brothers Gerard, Christopher and Robert and another individual whose name has been withheld also face charges in connection with the alleged fraud, but have pleaded not guilty.
Celine and Gerard left New Zealand before they were charged and now live overseas. The court said warrants have been issued for their arrest. The trial date for the remaining three is tentatively set for February 2026.
The North Shore Court heard Francis’ family came to New Zealand from Singapore about 20 years ago when Francis was in secondary school. Francis later obtained a law degree from Auckland University.
Outside court, Francis expressed anger at his “disowned” brother Gerard.
Matt Nippert is an Auckland-based investigative reporter covering white-collar crime, transnational crime and the intersection of politics and business. He has won more than a dozen awards for his journalism, including being named Journalist of the Year twice. He joined the Herald in 2014 after a decade covering news for business newspapers and national magazines.
[ad_2]
Source link
