20 Oct 2011

Failed finance company director jailed

6:52 pm on 20 October 2011

A former director of National Finance has been jailed six years for fraud.

National Finance was placed into receivership in May 2006, owing investors about $21 million.

Trevor Allan Ludlow, 52, was found guilty of false accounting and theft by a person in a special relationship and was found to have defrauded investors of an estimated $3.5 million.

In July, Ludlow was also found guilty of seven charges under the Crimes Act in July following an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office.

He was sentenced in the Auckland District Court on Thursday.

SFO lead investigator Simon McArley says he hopes the jail term will send a message to the general public.

"We see one of our roles as supporting investor confidence in the markets and that's why we focus on these cases.

We think this demonstrates that the courts will take that seriously and that the public can have some confidence knowing that those who breach investors' trust will be held to account."