A court has reserved its decision on an appeal by directors of collapsed company Nathans Finance to have their jail sentences reduced.
Kenneth Moses and Mervyn Doolan were sentenced on 2 September for misleading investors about the risks associated with investing in the company which collapsed in 2007 owing $174 million to about 7000 investors.
They were found guilty of five breaches of the Securities Act by making untrue statements in company documents.
Doolan was jailed for for two years and four months and ordered to pay $150,000 in reparation.
Moses was sentenced to two years and two months in prison and ordered to pay reparation of $425,000.
On Tuesday, lawyers for the men argued at the Wellington High Court that their clients were not grossly negligent and that the starting points for their sentences were too high.
They told the court that Doolan and Moses should be eligible for home detention.
The Crown says the jail sentences are appropriate as they are needed to deter others.
