Some of Kerry Colin Christian's difficulties with clients came about because of mismanagement, muddled paperwork and poor communication, Judge Bernadette Farnan said in the Invercargill District Court.
But Christian (56) ‘‘crossed the line to obtain money when you should not have'' and must have known that was criminal activity, she said.
Christian ran seminars around New Zealand inviting people to invest in property in the United States, the summary of facts released by the court said.
He escorted clients on buying tours to Memphis and Phoenix, with the clients buying the properties and paying Christian a fee for arranging the purchase, project managing renovations and reselling the property.
Resale profits were split 50-50.
The case against him has been a long and complicated one.
He was initially charged in 2013 with 19 counts of dishonesty totalling $US60,000.
He denied all charges. A jury trial was aborted after four days, through no fault of Christian, and a second judge-alone trial was held before Judge Farnan over several days between August and September this year.
The judge said yesterday seven charges were dismissed during the course of the trial but as Christian was being cross-examined by Crown solicitor John Young, she became aware Christian had amended email communications to support his defence.
That ‘‘damaged Christian's credibility'', she said, advising Mr Young and Christian's counsel, Roger Eagles, to discuss what should happen next.
The result was Christian pleaded guilty to four charges and the Crown offered no evidence on the remaining eight.
The four charges were:
●Theft by a person in a special relationship (accepting $US24,500 from Lindsay Richards for renovations to a property which were not carried out)
●Theft by a person in a special relationship (keeping overpayment of $US4694 from Dirk Ziegert)
●Using a document for pecuniary advantage (invoicing Lauren Murray $NZ1711.89 for insurance cover on two US properties but never obtaining the insurance)
●Using a document for pecuniary advantage (invoicing Garry Lange $US6312 for renovations to a property which were not carried out)
Mr Eagles asked for his client to be discharged without conviction, on the grounds convictions would make it ‘‘highly suspect, if not impossible'' for Christian to continue working as a property developer.
Convictions would also make it difficult for him to travel to the United States. Mr Young said convictions were more important than a penalty.
The public needed protection from Christian, who solicited money from them for property projects.
‘‘These have the odour of a pyramid scheme. There is an element of ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul' ... When difficulties arise and people want their money back it becomes complicated.''
Judge Farnan said she was not prepared to discharge Christian without conviction.
His offending was moderate rather than minor, and the charges were ‘‘similar in kind''.
The complainants had relied on his knowledge and expertise as a property developer and had put their trust in him.
She noted Christian seemed ‘‘regretful but not remorseful'', and seemed to be blaming others for the charges being brought rather than accepting responsibility for his actions.
She convicted him and sentenced him to 150 hours community work.
He was ordered to pay $US800 reparation to Mrs Murray and $NZ$1500 to Dr Ziegert.
Judge Farnan accepted the reparation was less than the complainants sought but said the ‘‘unders and overs'' could be settled in a civil claim.
The court was told Christian had settled outside court with the other two complainants.
