Rural fraudster gets five years

By Chris Hutching

Friday 20th December 2002

Fairlie fraudster and bankrupt Michael Hector Anderson (57) has been sentenced to five years' jail by district court judge Murray Abbot for his part in a scam where creditors lost more than $11 million after the collapse of a company that converted South Canterbury farms for dairying.

His wife, Pamela Isobel Anderson (54), was also found guilty and jailed for three years on charges of conspiracy to defraud.

The scheme involved a tame valuer who pumped up the values of the farms which were later found to be either unsuitable for dairying or where assets and stock were missing. The prosecution gave evidence of highly leveraged deals and deception of creditors and lenders, culminating in a Serious Fraud investigation. The pair had denied any conspiracy and Michael Anderson claimed he acted on his own volition while Pamela was merely a typist.

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