The Otago Daily Times has had related to it the activities of Ben Hanssen and of a world where companies are created and liquidated while business associates and employees are left financially out of pocket.
Attempts to contact Mr Hanssen on his cellphone or at his bar interests have been unsuccessful.
The group manager of the company Great Southern Group Ltd, Hamish Lay, said last week he ''had no idea'' where Mr Hanssen was, would not pass on a message, and then hung up.
Mr Hanssen was recently named in an Otago Daily Times article denying allegations of not paying staff and using gang members to intimidate rivals.
Since then, the newspaper has been contacted by more than a dozen former business associates, who introduced the newspaper to others who say they have been financially burnt by the 42-year-old.
They spoke of Mr Hanssen as a smooth-talking man who promised much in business dealings, only to leave some people hundreds of thousands in debt.
Some had contacted the Companies Office to get Mr Hanssen - involved in at least 13 companies that have been liquidated - on the banned directors' list.
The ODT has also spoken to former staff owed back pay, and in one case almost $10,000 from a successful personal grievance case against one of Mr Hanssen's companies.
That victim was dismissed by one of his companies, Ashburton Hospitality Ltd, a day after being sexually assaulted by a person who worked at one of Mr Hanssen's bars in 2011.
While the former student was successful with her court case against the sexual offender, who remains in prison, she was still owed an outstanding sum of $10,000 from Mr Hanssen's company, including penalties for non-payment.
The Dunedin woman, when asked if she expected to receive the money, replied, ''I have no doubt I will never get that money.''
Another creditor, Ashburton man Greg Donaldson, of Greg Donaldson Contracting Ltd, is typical of complainants.
He says his company was owed tens of thousands for services supplied to a company connected to Mr Hanssen, and ''we were going to take him to court but that would cost more''.
''He is a very sharp conman.''
Mr Hanssen, and his partner, Kerry Thompson, have business interests in the Dunedin bars Metro, Monkey Bar, Diamond Lounge/Rumours and the Clarendon Hotel.
Mr Hanssen hit the headlines earlier this month when he was named as the bar owner involved in employing gang members to intimidate rivals, and was alleged to have knowledge of concrete being poured down the drain of a rival establishment.
Those alleged incidents prompted a mass walkout of Metro staff, many of whom say they are owed wages and have contacted Inland Revenue following concerns some taxes have not been paid.
Police in Dunedin have confirmed matters relating to Mr Hanssen ''are with the CIB for investigation''.
It is not the first time Mr Hanssen has attracted the attention of authorities.
Sources have confirmed he spent several months in prison in Christchurch in the 1990s following his first bankruptcy.
Mr Hanssen was known as Charles Benjamin Macadie, electrician, when he was declared bankrupt in the Christchurch High Court in 1991.
Eleven years later, he was listed as Benjamin Charles Hanssen, employed, when he was declared bankrupt in the same court.
Former acquaintances have confirmed his use of other names, including Ben McCady, and he is understood to be originally from New South Wales, Australia.
Mr Hanssen's first bankruptcy is understood to have been the result of business deals in Auckland, and he was imprisoned in Christchurch when authorities found he was involved in a company while bankrupt.
One source said he and his parents were ''ripped off for quite a few dollars'' by Mr Hanssen in a Christchurch petrol station deal.
He says he is still paying money off a decade later, despite initially pursuing legal action.
''This is how dodgy he is - he would use a lawyer [but] not pay the lawyer so the lawyer would stop defending him,'' the source said of Mr Hanssen.
''I spent quite a bit of money going through different lawyers trying to serve papers on him ... and he was using lawyers in Nelson when he was in Christchurch because no-one would touch him.''
While in Christchurch, Mr Hanssen was involved in a housing development company, which was later prosecuted by the IRD for fraudulent tax returns, resulting in one of his associates receiving home detention.
The source alleged Mr Hanssen also became involved in a housing development, with plans sold to unsuspecting families whose deposits were used to fund the build while their contracts were later cancelled, and the apartments sold again.
''He had worked out that if he didn't put his name as a director of the company, but as an employee, then they could not prosecute him.''
The man said those affected by the Christchurch deals were owed ''millions of dollars''.
So how has Mr Hanssen been able to get away with his business dealings, and stay one step ahead of authorities?
''He has the gift of the gab, he is able to paint a picture of something that is promising, offers good returns, little investment, little stress ... he will take on all of that for you.
"You basically hand over the money and he tells you how things are going and he shows you the building sites ... but you are unaware he has already spent your money, and it is not even on the project you are looking at,'' the source said.
When Mr Hanssen attracted the interest of IRD, he would start a company to get some credit and pay off some bills, and then set up another similarly named company which he would use when the former was liquidated, the source said.
A retired Christchurch man said that he first knew Mr Hanssen as Ben Macadie, when he worked as a salesman and electrician for him in the early 2000s.
The man found $80,000 of product that had ''never been through the company's books''.
''Ben had bought [the items] through the company and installed it and invoiced it through his own invoice books.''
Despite having to pay Mr Hanssen redundancy because of ''wrongful dismissal'', the man was able to later recover about $40,000, with the rest written off.
''My accountant said to me, `Do you want to go through a court case or save your business' ... so that is what we did.''
In about 2007, Mr Hanssen left Christchurch for Ashburton and set up another property company, a source said.
A former business partner was one of several people who was left owing hundreds of thousands of dollars to creditors following the collapse of a company.
The creditor, who like many others declined to be named, said Mr Hanssen was ''a great guy'' who would take them out and introduce them to others.
''He is a people's person, and he is funny and chatty, until you are too far in and your rose-tinted glasses come off and you realise how deep you are in and you have to struggle to get out.''
She had a simple message for those caught up with Mr Hanssen - ''get out''.
''He is a great guy until he leaves you behind ... and you are left owing hundreds of thousands.''
The ODT knows of at least one letter sent to the Serious Fraud Office in late 2009 which concerned Mr Hanssen.
The office confirmed last month it was not investigating him.
Former business associates said they were left exasperated in trying to recover monies owed, with lawyers advising cases could cost in the six figures only for the companies involved to be potentially liquidated.
After leaving Ashburton - and some creditors who are yet to see their money - Mr Hanssen moved to Dunedin about 2011 and entered the hospitality industry.
One source said a recent multimillion-dollar proposal for a Greymouth development followed the same pattern as previous business ventures.
The Canterbury-based creditor said, ''We sit here absolutely amazed they continue to carry on the way they have.''
The ODT has spoken to other employees who say they had contacted IRD, concerned taxes had not been paid.
The IRD declined to comment on whether Mr Hanssen/Mr Thompson or any of their companies were the subject of complaints or investigations, citing confidentiality.
Matters appeared to have come to a head in September after chattels belonging to Mr Hanssen's former landlord were legitimately repossessed from one of his bars.
Gang members allegedly working on behalf of Mr Hanssen went to a Dunedin bar in Frederick St on September 20 to take back the chattels.
The involvement of gang members, who the ODT understands have not been paid by Mr Hanssen, left some former employees and creditors feeling intimidated, while others still clung to any remote hope they might be paid.
