Partner in Brooklyn Rise deal went to jail for fraud

One of the two men involved in an attempt to revive the trouble-plagued Brooklyn Rise housing development has been bankrupted twice and jailed for fraud.

John Mouroukis told The Dominion Post he bought a big part of the stalled subdivision from the receiver of Lombard Finance for $2.25 million – a fraction of the $42m that been sunk on the project. It transpires he has a history of financial problems.

He was bankrupted in 1995 and again in 2000. The bankruptcy proceedings in 1995 were taken by Bank of South of Australia for $1.5m when Mr Mouroukis was unable to meet payments on two Newtown commercial properties. In 1997 he was sentenced to six months' jail for obtaining $50,000 by arranging a bogus mortgage.

A Strathmore development on which he was employed has also been plagued with problems – six years on some homes still do not have compliance certificates and the company that did the development has been liquidated.

Mr Mouroukis acknowledged yesterday he was also involved in a legal dispute with the mortgagee of his own home. Bluestone Mortgages advertised the Miramar house for mortgagee sale after debts owed on two other properties were added to his mortgage.

Although Mr Mouroukis describes himself as a partner with Peter Barzukas in Brooklyn Rise, he is not listed as a director of Gordon Place Development Ltd, the company that now owns the partly complete subdivision.

Mr Barzukas said yesterday he was concerned that Mr Mouroukis appeared to be fronting the business when it was his development and Mr Mouroukis was the project manager.

He had put up the money and raised the finance for the venture as "my reputation and past dealings are faultless".

Mr Mouroukis acknowledged he was taking a back-seat role, with his partner fronting it and "I was going to help him cut his teeth on it".

He said that there was no reason for people to be wary of the development because of his commercial past, as professional builders, engineers and surveyors were all involved, "so where is the fear factor?"

"Peter and I are the working partners in this thing. I will be running the day-to-day operations and he'll do the sales."

Mr Mouroukis said he had been involved in successful housing developments in Holloway Rd, Aro Valley, Cooper St, Karori, and Cockayne Rd, Khandallah.

- © Fairfax NZ News