NZ's accidental millionaire faces court
March 10, 2011
Almost two years after she shocked the world with her brazen multi-million dollar theft, New Zealand's most famous runaway has fronted court over the crime.
Kara Hurring, 31, made headlines worldwide in May 2009 when she and then-boyfriend Hui (Leo) Gao, a failed servo owner, skipped New Zealand with millions of dollars accidentally handed to them by their bank.
The pair, who became known as the "accidental millionaires", took their windfall to Asia and disappeared, with no word besides reports of spend-ups at Macau casinos, heard since.
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But last month, Hurring voluntarily returned to face a charge of stealing $NZ6,782,000 ($A4.97 million) from Westpac. Gao remains at large.
Her lawyer Simon Lance told Rotorua District Court on Thursday that Hurring, who turns 32 next week, intends to fight the charge.
Smartly dressed in a tailored black suit and a white shirt, Hurring appeared solemn and composed in the dock as Judge Jocelyn Munroe remanded her on bail to reappear on March 21.
These are her first days back in her hometown, a tourist destination known for its hot pools and geysers, and it's undoubtedly a very different experience to when she was last there.
In April 2009 Gao and Hurring applied for an extension to their overdraft to help get their failing gas station back into the black.
Instead Westpac, in one of the biggest blunders of its kind, mistakenly handed them a credit line of NZ$10 million - 100 times their approved limit of NZ$100,000.
It's alleged that the pair transferred almost NZ$7 million of it into other accounts before fleeing the country with Hurring's young daughter two days later.
The bank, left red-faced by the error, fired the teller responsible for misplacing the decimal point and has been working with authorities in China to recover some of the money.
Their disappearance sparked an international police search, with officers revealing that Hurring's younger sister Aroha, as well as Gao's mother and business partner were also unaccounted for.
Other relatives of the pair told New Zealand media they had opted not to go because they "knew it was bad".
At the time, Hurring's mother Suzanne Hurring made public pleas for her daughter to return, telling journalists: "she has never pinched a thing in her life."
An employee at the gas station was also lamenting his bosses' departure.
Shybu Antony, a father-of-three left $US2000 ($A2,543) out of pocket, told the local Daily Post newspaper he was heartbroken to lose his job.
"I'm so shocked. They should come back and give the money back ... Westpac made a big blunder but Leo has done a big, big blunder."
His message for Gao, if he saw him again, would be: "'Why are you doing this? You spoil your life, you spoil my life'."
Source: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/nzs-accidental-millionaire-faces-court-20110310-1bph1.html
Tamara McLean, AAP New Zealand Correspondent March 10, 2011
March 10, 2011
Almost two years after she shocked the world with her brazen multi-million dollar theft, New Zealand's most famous runaway has fronted court over the crime.
Kara Hurring, 31, made headlines worldwide in May 2009 when she and then-boyfriend Hui (Leo) Gao, a failed servo owner, skipped New Zealand with millions of dollars accidentally handed to them by their bank.
The pair, who became known as the "accidental millionaires", took their windfall to Asia and disappeared, with no word besides reports of spend-ups at Macau casinos, heard since.
Advertisement: Story continues below
But last month, Hurring voluntarily returned to face a charge of stealing $NZ6,782,000 ($A4.97 million) from Westpac. Gao remains at large.
Her lawyer Simon Lance told Rotorua District Court on Thursday that Hurring, who turns 32 next week, intends to fight the charge.
Smartly dressed in a tailored black suit and a white shirt, Hurring appeared solemn and composed in the dock as Judge Jocelyn Munroe remanded her on bail to reappear on March 21.
These are her first days back in her hometown, a tourist destination known for its hot pools and geysers, and it's undoubtedly a very different experience to when she was last there.
In April 2009 Gao and Hurring applied for an extension to their overdraft to help get their failing gas station back into the black.
Instead Westpac, in one of the biggest blunders of its kind, mistakenly handed them a credit line of NZ$10 million - 100 times their approved limit of NZ$100,000.
It's alleged that the pair transferred almost NZ$7 million of it into other accounts before fleeing the country with Hurring's young daughter two days later.
The bank, left red-faced by the error, fired the teller responsible for misplacing the decimal point and has been working with authorities in China to recover some of the money.
Their disappearance sparked an international police search, with officers revealing that Hurring's younger sister Aroha, as well as Gao's mother and business partner were also unaccounted for.
Other relatives of the pair told New Zealand media they had opted not to go because they "knew it was bad".
At the time, Hurring's mother Suzanne Hurring made public pleas for her daughter to return, telling journalists: "she has never pinched a thing in her life."
An employee at the gas station was also lamenting his bosses' departure.
Shybu Antony, a father-of-three left $US2000 ($A2,543) out of pocket, told the local Daily Post newspaper he was heartbroken to lose his job.
"I'm so shocked. They should come back and give the money back ... Westpac made a big blunder but Leo has done a big, big blunder."
His message for Gao, if he saw him again, would be: "'Why are you doing this? You spoil your life, you spoil my life'."
Source: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/nzs-accidental-millionaire-faces-court-20110310-1bph1.html
Tamara McLean, AAP New Zealand Correspondent March 10, 2011
