A former immigration lawyer who helped TV host Michael Barrymore get residency has been jailed for three and a half years for forgery and practising as an immigration adviser while not licensed.
Former Auckland lawyer Richard James Martin, 49, was found guilty of 93 charges in a judge-alone trial at the Auckland District Court on June 18.
Judge Mary Elizabeth Sharp found Martin guilty of 37 counts of forgery - mainly forging licensed practitioners' signatures, 11 counts of receiving fees for immigration advice when not licensed, nine counts of providing immigration advice when not licensed and one count of "holding out as an immigration adviser when neither licensed nor exempt".
Immigration advisers must either be licensed or exempt. Exempt people include lawyers but Martin did not hold a practising certificate as he had been struck off in 2009.
The judge found that between May 2009 and September 2010 Martin gave immigration advice to ten families through Richard Martin Immigration Limited.
Judge Sharp said while Martin "stuck his head in the sand" for some of the offending, other aspects were "clearly premeditated".
He gave clients false information and false assurances that he was a lawyer.
He had a stamp made up for certifying documents, forged lawyers' signatures on immigration documents and used licensed immigration advisers employed at his company to "sign off" visa applications of clients they had never met.
One client he advised became illegally in New Zealand because authorities refused to accept documents he signed, the judge said.
Delivering her verdict in June, Judge Sharp said: "I found Mr Martin to be a witness of untruth. I am satisfied that he lied throughout his testimony… Ultimately, I am afraid that I reached the conclusion that if it suited him, Mr Martin would swear black was white."
Defence lawyer Gary Gotlieb said his client had "lost everything". His marriage was over and his reputation was "gone".
Martin, while a lawyer, had represented the Law Society overseas and gained renown for helping British entertainer Michael Barrymore get New Zealand residency.
Barrymore moved to New Zealand after a man died at a party at his English house in the early 2000s.
Judge Sharp said there were no mitigating circumstances to Martin's offending but she accepted he was a good son who was caring for his elderly parents.
His offences were serious, lengthy and had a high degree of commerciality.
The offending was aggravated by the fact Martin had previous convictions and was on home detention for fraud for five months of the relevant period.
She sentenced him to three years, seven months in prison.