The Auckland District Court found Loizos Michaels (45) on November 30, 2012 guilty of Crimes Act charges laid by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).
After defending charges of obtaining by deception or causing loss by deception in an eight-week trial, Mr Michaels was found guilty of 31 charges by Judge C J Field.
The charges each carry a maximum penalty of seven years.
Complex depositions
Loizos Michaels is known to use numerous aliases, including Michael Loizos, Michael Lozis, Michael Loizis, Michael Loizou, Michael Loizs and Michael Callis. His correct identity according to his Australian Passport is Loizos Michaels.
He is believed to have been born in Cyprus, but grew up in Melbourne Australia.
The long and complex SFO investigation resulted in Mr Michaels being accused of inducing investors to pay him large sums of cash based on a series of highly persuasive but false representations.
The ensuing hearing disclosed colourful details of Mr Michaels’ elaborate and increasingly complex and extreme deceptions.
These included claims that he had wealthy Greek Cypriot family contacts and personal and business relationships with leading Asian and Pacific casino owners.
It was also claimed that he was orchestrating a takeover bid for the Sky City casino group and was involved in an array of other property developments and overseas projects.
He also faced charges that he had knowledge of death threats against investors;
had the support of high profile members of the community; had relationships with a broad range of individuals from Belgium bank managers to law firms to the Hells Angels and Yakuza criminal gang.
The SFO investigation established that the majority of these claims were fabricated.
Community hazard
The period of offending in New Zealand was from March 2007 to August 2008. The total ‘investments’ given to Mr Michaels and investigated by the SFO were in excess of $3 million.
SFO Acting Chief Executive Simon McArley said that Mr Michaels represents a hazard to the community
“We are pleased that we have been able to address this.”
However, Simon McArley warned that Mr Michaels’ case was not typical of financial crime in New Zealand.
“While Mr Michaels’ case is highly colourful, it would be a mistake to assume that it is representative of the majority of financial crime. Those that commit financial crime come in all varieties, but experience has shown that some of the most impactful financial crime arises from activities of highly credible and everyday individuals. The SFO will remain focused on prevention and early intervention across the broad spectrum of financial crime in New Zealand,” he said.
The SFO acknowledged the cooperation and assistance of the Queensland State Police, which provided evidence of similar conduct by Mr Michaels while in Australia. The evidence was used in the New Zealand trial.
He also thanked the Victorian and Queensland State Police who assisted in apprehension, detention and subsequent extradition of Mr Michaels after his failure to return to a Court hearing in New Zealand.
A Serious Fraud Office Press Release
