Ex-Gambling Trust Administrator Misuses Over $1.7 Million in New Zealand and Gets Deserved Verdict

Former gambling trust administrator was sentenced to home detention and community work, for misusing over $1.7 million.

Abuse of work position and unauthorized acquiring of funds is not a new phenomenon and is not country specific. There are numerous cases when individuals that occupy certain positions in different organizations use their status in their favor and do not hesitate to break the law.

It is interesting that recently there are various reports of cases where people use company money to fund their gambling activities. Such example is the case of a woman, who was convicted for playing online casinos in South Africa and using her employer’s funds.

Clifford’s case

Gambling trust administrator misused $1.7 million in New Zealand

• He was sentenced to nine months’ home detention and 200 hours’ community work

• Actives Charitable Trust and the Counties Manukau Institute of Rugby and Sport suffered from the fraud

• DIA expressed satisfaction for holding the defendant accountable

Daniel Joseph Clifford, currently a company director, was sentenced to nine months’ home detention and 200 hours’ community work by the Manukau District Court, for paying out $1.7 million in gambling machine payments to another of his companies.

The convict also had previous experience with the law when he pleaded guilty to a representative charge of dishonestly using a document, therefore his current charge is not a surprise.

Clifford did the crime when he was the administrator of Actives Charitable Trust, former gambling society, and the trustee of the Counties Manukau Institute of Rugby and Sport (CMIRS).

Details around the crime

The summary of the offense said that, Clifford purposefully maneuvered the financial affairs of CMIRS and Actives so that he can hide the incapability of Actives to distribute the legally required by New Zealand gambling law, minimum of 37.12% of net gaming machine proceeds to the community.

Clifford worked for the Actives Charitable Trust between 2006 and 2009, when it also paid $1.72 million “loan repayments” to School Ltd. It probably wouldn’t have been a problem, if the company’s director wasn’t Clifford, as the Department of Internal Affairs revealed.

Initially, the company was established to promote school-related and sport projects and it is no longer in the Companies Register.

Department of Internal Affairs’ satisfaction

The Department of Internal Affairs commented that it was quite hard to figure out the degree to which Clifford had gained personal profit from the different transactions.

Still, DIA are asking for $1.72 million in damages, which represent the “loan repayments” that were the gaming machine proceeds, which were supposed to go for the community.

The court could not rule reparation as the gambling society no longer exists, but Clifford donated $5000 to each of the four charities, which had unsuccessfully requested funds from Actives from 2007 to 2008.

Debbie Despard, DIA director of gambling compliance, commented that the gambling societies were holding gaming machine proceeds in trusts for distribution to the community, and the department was delighted it was able to hold Clifford accountable.