Joint investigation guilty plea

Anthony John Hendon (54) has pleaded guilty today in the High Court at Wellington to 24 charges of reproducing documents with intent to cause loss and has been remanded on bail for sentencing.

Mr Hendon was charged in October 2012 following a major joint enforcement agency operation led by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).

The scam involved Mr Hendon copying pre-existing advertisements from genuine publications and promising prospective advertisers he would print and distribute their advertisements. To encourage purchase, the magazines were titled in a way that suggested support of worthwhile causes such as road safety, parenting or family support. Mr Hendon grossly misrepresented the number of magazines to be printed and circulated. Having attempted to obtain more than $1 million under the scam between February 2010 and October 2012, Mr Hendon was successful in obtaining funds in excess of $750,000.

SFO Director, Julie Read said, “The scale of coordination across the agencies in Operation Edit was the first of its kind in a fraud investigation and the thoroughness of the investigation has led to this guilty plea.

The SFO believes Mr Hendon played a leading role in this scam and his guilty plea is a significant milestone for all of the agencies involved in the investigation.”

Two other defendants have already pled guilty and were respectively sentenced to home detention and community work.

The trial for the two remaining defendants in this matter, Noelene Kay Banton and Johannes Hendrik Maria Middeldorp starts on 18 February.

Mr Hendon will reappear for sentencing on 1 April.

ENDS

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