Former Bridgecorp boss Rod Petricevic is a dangerous offender who should not be allowed out of jail, the Sensible Sentencing Trust says.
The Trust has filed a judicial review in the High Court at Wellington over the Parole Board's decision to release Petricevic.
The 66-year-old is set to be free next week after serving less than half of his six-year, 10-month prison sentence for ripping off investors.
After a third appearance before the Parole Board last month, he's due to be released on Monday.
But the Trust says early release of white collar fraudsters sets a dangerous precedent.
"The trust sees this man as worse than someone who robs liquor stores... We say this man is as dangerous as a person who sticks up a liquor store for money," lawyer for the Trust David Garrett told the High Court.
"The trust says actions of this man have caused the death of people, particularly elderly people because what happens is they retire with what they think is a comfortable income then suddenly they have no money."
But Francis Cook QC, who's acting for the Parole Board says if this case is successful, it undermines the parole system and could set a precedent of its own.
"And there is a great concern with the idea that every time a decision was made that the trust didn't like, they could come to this court and test every Parole Board decision they didn't like," he says.
A decision on the case is expected to be released this afternoon.
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