The Dunedin man who defrauded insurance companies of more than $300,000 to satisfy the demands of his blackmailing mistress has been stood down from the Otago Polytechnic Students' Association council after his criminal past came to light.
Mark Shayne Jory was jailed last August, alongside his former lover Sharleen Louise Lynch, for his part in a fraud which cost his family their home and his former wife her financial security.
He was paroled in December and engaged in study at Otago Polytechnic this year.
Mr Jory was co-opted on to the council as a mature students representative last Thursday, but was asked to step down the following day when his criminal convictions came to light, association president Kayla Miller said.
"We sent him an email and he got back to us and he totally understood why we had to stand him down,'' she said.
The mature students representative position was only created this year. Mr Jory had volunteered for the role and ran unopposed for the position.
He had no access or involvement with the association's finances, but his convictions created a conflict of interest because the association relied on donations, Ms Miller said.
The association had not carried out a background check on Mr Jory and his history only came to light when another member of the council raised concerns, she said.
Despite being asked to step down, "there were no dramas'' and the association would continue to support him as a student.
"We are totally in support of him, he is a student,'' she said.
"But while we believe in second chances, it was too much of a conflict of interest to have him on the board.''
The incident was a "learning curve'' for the association and it would carry out background checks before any future appointments, she said.
