A Manawatu agri-business director has admitted defrauding lenders of more than $2.3 million for cattle that did not exist.
Peter Joseph Nitschke, 32, appeared in Feilding District Court on Monday, and pleaded guilty to seven charges of dishonestly using a document and obtaining by deception.
The charges were laid by the Serious Fraud Office after an investigation into Capehorn Farming Company Limited, of which Nitschke was the sole director.
The Feilding-based company operated a cattle-fattening business in the central and lower North Island, where cattle purchases were financed through specialist livestock finance companies.
Capehorn fell into financial difficulty in late 2009 as a result of falling beef prices.
In early 2010, Nitschke obtained over $880,000 worth of finance for cattle that did not exist, and $1.5 million in refinancing from the Bank of New Zealand to repay loans for the non-existent cattle and for cattle that had already been sold, the Serious Fraud Office says.
Capehorn was placed in receivership by the Bank of New Zealand in December 2010 and PriceWaterhouseCoopers were appointed as receivers.
The company was referred to the Serious Fraud Office in March 2011.
Nitschke will be sentenced in Feilding District Court on February 20.
NZN