A couple has been ordered to repay almost $1.46 million after it was found that the pair had swindled money from a rest home and their appeal was dismissed. Duncan and Sara Napier were the administration manager and nurse manager of Torbay Rest Home on Auckland’s North Shore which was owned by companies, Torbay Holdings Limited and Torbay Rest Home Limited. The Napiers effectively ran the rest home business and were given control of it on the basis of trust, says the appeal summary. Duncan was the administration manager from 2001 until the end of April 2012. During that time, he was responsible for the financial management of the rest home and supplied the companies’ accountant with information to do the accounts. The appeal summary says the accountant relied on the information supplied by Duncan and did not audit the accounts. “An audit was not possible because Mr Napier had not kept adequate records,” the judgment says. An investigation into the rest home’s finances was launched in April 2012 after the accountant was contacted by the Inland Revenue Department. After a three-week trial, Justice Mark Woolford decided the money they had taken out of rest home funds over 10 years “well exceeded” the gross combined income of the Napiers and their family trust and that they were liable to repay $2,235,397. The Torbay companies were able to recover just under $1.46 million. The Napiers appealed the decision at a hearing on October 17, but it was upheld in a decision released in mid-December. During the trial, the Napiers didn’t dispute the sum of money, but rather argued the payments were legitimate, the appeal summary says. Duncan says the payments were all in line with either the pair’s entitlements or reimbursements of expenses. The Napier’s argued the accounts from which the money was taken and deposited into were in overdraft, so the money wasn’t the property of the Torbay companies. However, this appeal point was dismissed in the judgment. Woolford also confirmed that the crime was proven beyond reasonable doubt. Further, he said the claim was within the High Court’s jurisdictions, rather than that of the Employment Relations Authority. The appeal was dismissed and the appellant was ordered to pay the cost of appeal. The judge held Duncan Napier as liable for his breach of duties. In the summary, the Torbay companies’ accountant said that since the Napiers left, there had been a “substantial turnaround in business” with profits made in 2013 and 2014 despite an increase in overhead costs. The rest home website says it is a 49-bed care facility.
