David Ross was released from prison, after serving almost seven years of a ten year sentence for fraud, before investors received clarity on recoveries from his $115m Ponzi.
The last rites for Ross Asset Management – New Zealand’s largest Ponzi scheme – were finally read just before Christmas. The end of liquidation followed years of protracted civil litigation that went all the way
to the Supreme Court to determine how investors owed $115 million should be treated.
The process dragged on so long that the Ponzi scheme’s architect, Wellington accountant David Ross, had time to be investigated by the Serious Fraud Office, tried and convicted, serve nearly seven years of an 11-year prison sentence, and be released on parole in early 2020, before liquidators PwC last month wound up their administration of his cluster of related companies. That administration lasted just one day short of a decade.
The final liquidators’ report from PwC’s John Fisk and David Bridgman shows $34.5m was recovered, enabling investors to be delivered just under 20c of each dollar they had put into the schemes. Further recoveries for investors came in 2021 after the ANZ settled a lawsuit claiming the bank was negligent in enabling the long-running Ponzi.
The liquidators’ report also shows the key reason for the long half-life of Ross’ fraudulent scheme: liquidators clocked up $3.85m in legal fees over the period, with another $2.4m charged directly by PwC for…
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