Foodstuffs
property manager Martin Price’s jail sentence for fraud was reduced on appeal by
three months to two years two months jail to reflect his willingness to give
evidence against alleged co-conspirators facing similar charges.
Price pleaded guilty to
seven fraud charges. As part of
Foodstuffs’ senior management team he was responsible for managing the retail
chain’s Wellington sites. He admitted
frauds through 2012 and 2013 where rental income from Foodstuffs properties was
diverted to other bank accounts through use of false invoicing. When Wilson Parking, who leased one of the
sites, queried a change of bank account in an invoice presented, Price
concocted a Foodstuffs letter supposedly confirming the change. The High Court was told of other false
invoices charging for non-existent remedial work on one site and fictitious
lease negotiations in respect of another.
Foodstuffs lost
$155,595; just over half that Price’s gain from the fraud.
Price
v. Police – High Court (16.10.17)
17.137