5 December 2019

A former employee of a company owned by Sir Peter Jackson and Dame Fran Walsh has been sentenced to two years and five months’ imprisonment on charges brought by the Serious Fraud Office.

Eugene John DeMarco (57) was sentenced today in the Wellington High Court on six counts of fraud. Mr DeMarco committed the frauds while he was employed as The Vintage Aviator Limited (TVAL)’s production manager.

The defendant was found guilty by a jury in September. Mr DeMarco broke the law on several counts to rid himself of a debt of more than $1 million owed to a trust controlled by Mr Jackson and Ms Walsh and to dishonestly obtain a bank loan.

The Director of the SFO, Julie Read, said, “The sentence imposed today reflects the seriousness of offending. Mr DeMarco defrauded his employer, a charitable organisation and a bank. He exploited people’s goodwill and trust through his offending which was premediated and driven by self-interest.”

ENDS

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