Jailed Capital + Merchant fraudsters plead guilty to Securities Act charges

Convicted Capital + Merchant fraudsters Wayne Douglas and Neal Nicholls have pleaded guilty to Securities Act charges of making untrue statements in offer documents laid by the Financial Markets Authority.

The guilty pleas by the former directors of the failed finance company follow those of fellow directors Robert Sutherland and Colin Ryan, who are to be sentenced in Auckland next month. Another director, Owen Tallentire, admitted similar charges. He is currently serving a five-year prison sentence for theft by a person in a special relationship in a prosecution taken by the Serious Fraud Office.

A sentencing date hasn’t yet been set for Douglas and Nicholls. They are both currently serving 7 ½-year jail sentences after being found guilty of fraud charges in a prosecution by the SFO.

“All five directors have now pleaded guilty to the most serious charges we brought against them,” said FMA head of enforcement Belinda Moffat. “These cases are important in the work we do to hold directors to account and to restore public confidence in our markets.”

Capital + Merchant Finance collapsed in 2007 owing some $167.1 million to about 7,500 investors.