Two people have been found guilty of fraud at the Auckland High Court today against one of the country's largest power companies.
Paul and Jane Rose where charged of obtaining by deception by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in August 2014 for alleged fraud against Mighty River Power's Southdown power station.
Mr Rose was found guilty of nine charges of obtaining by deception and not guilty of one charge of obtaining deception.
Jane Rose was found guilty of eight charges.
Mr Rose was an electrical engineer at the Southdown power station, where he set up companies in the name of Jane Rose and a former partner to hide his connection to the companies.
He used the companies to invoice Mighty River Power, initially on his own, then with the help of Ms Rose.
Mighty River Power wasn't aware of Mr Rose's involvement in the companies, and he didn't declare a conflict of interest.
Around $2.2 million was paid to the companies by Mighty River Power.
Mr Rose's offending occurred between March 2006 and December 2012, and Ms Rose was involved between February 2010 and December 2012.
After a Mighty River Power investigation, the offending was referred to the SFO.
"While Mr Rose took advantage of gaps in compliance with procurement procedures at Mighty River Power, internal checks and the observations of other staff led to the discovery of Mr Rose's offending," says director of the SFO Julie Read.
The defendants will appear in the Auckland High Court for sentencing on April 28.
Newshub.
