Businessman sold bach that wasn't his

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A Wellington businessman who sold a bach that wasn't his handed over a cheque for $27,500 when he appeared for sentence in Hamilton District Court yesterday.

Craig Nisbet, 45, an investment banker, was convicted of theft and ordered to pay $27,500 in reparation to his victims.

Judge Melanie Harland earlier this year declined an application for a discharge without conviction after finding Nisbet guilty of stealing the bach owned by Doug Banks, of Havelock North, and Ross Mear, of Wellington. She said if Nisbet paid the $27,500, a conviction would be his only penalty.

Yesterday she lived up to her word saying a conviction was a huge penalty for Nisbet.

It brought to an end a long battle to have the theft recognised, as Nisbet originally claimed the men abandoned the bach.

In 2004 Mr Banks and Mr Mear built the two-room bach at Blue Bay camping ground at Opoutama, on the Mahia peninsula in northern Hawke's Bay.

In September 2004 they received a letter saying Nisbet's company, Blue Bay Resort, had bought the camping ground and planned to develop a subdivision.

Nisbet moved the bach to a farm and sent Mr Banks and Mr Mear a $2659 bill.

They refused to pay as they had not been given a chance to move it themselves. In January 2005 Mr Mear discovered Nisbet had sold the bach.

Nisbet was bankrupted last year after failing to get the controversial development off the ground.

But his lawyer, Noel Sainsbury, told Judge Harland that Nisbet had sourced funds from a family trust to pay the $27,500.

Judge Harland said Nesbit was a "good man" who had done a lot in the community. She acknowledged that Nisbet was stressed at the time of the development.

Local Maori protested against the developers, claiming they bulldozed culturally significant sites.

Judge Harland said it had been a "long road" to get to this point and she knew it had been frustrating for Nisbet.

During the lengthy defended hearing – which was heard in Gisborne, Wairoa and Wellington – Mr Sainsbury said that stress, coupled with the bach problem, led to poor decision-making. There was never any malice involved.

- © Fairfax NZ News