An employee who dipped into the tills of a company, in which he was also a partner, is awaiting his fate in Court.
The Gore District Curt will give its verdict in the case of John William Jackson, an employee of Air Res-Comm (ARC) Limited. He pleaded guilty and was remanded on bail until his sentencing on March 31.
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) which brought the charges against the 61-year-old South African national, stating that he had defrauded the company to the extent of about $605,000 through internet transfers over a three-year period.
The charge-sheet said that two years after his arrival in New Zealand (in 2000) with his son Jonathan, he entered into an agreement with two others (whose names were given simply as Mr & Mrs Chambers), to form ARC.
“Jackson became a director of the company on June 3, 2003, and a 1/3 shareholder in July 2004. In the following year, he took over the work of another employee who went on leave. The job gave him internet access to the company’s bank accounts, which he used on 84 occasions to transfer a total sum of $604,779.87 to bank accounts associated with him and his family. He wrongly described these payments as due to creditors,” the charge sheet said.
It is understood that such offences would attract jail terms ranging from five to seven years.
