Front to back; Juliet van der Oord, Bridget Chrystall BA LLB and John Campbell
Decidedly dodgy Hawks Bay legal firm Davidson Armstrong and Campbell are finally falling apart with Bridget Chrystall BA LLB distancing herself from fellow partners John Campbell and Juliet van der Oord. Stuck however in an unholy alliance for a few years longer probably because of the guarantees on the partnerships office lease.
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Our advice to LF readers is get any money you have in any of the old firms nominee company’s out of theirs and back into your own bank account. Find new lawyers you can trust, preferably out of town……..tall order we know given the life long and intergenerational allegiances that run through business in the Hawks bay. Enough is enough though people, these fucktards have a voracious appetite for your money and have a great deal of difficulty distinguishing between the two, yours and theirs. When push comes to shove these low rent looser’s will step on you and over you to grab your money.
Hugh Hamilton, looking a little worse for wear after having been convicted of 14 counts of fraud, what is it about Kiwi lawyer’s, they seem to attract fraudsters like shit does flies.
No doubt unfortunate clients have just received the letter dated 19th April 2014 ‘unsigned’ from Davidson Armstrong and Campbell (DAC Legal) advising you of the new arrangement of the partnership. For those of you who havn’t yet received that letter, LF quotes it for your information;
“ We wish to take the opportunity to advise that the partnership of Davidson Armstrong and Campbell will be changing as from 17 April 2014.
From that date, Bridgit Chrystall will continue to practise [sic] on her own account from the same premises.
John Campbell and Juliet van der Oord will continue to practice in a new partnership from the same premises.
Nothing will changed as far as you, our valued clients are concerned. The same level of professionalism and experience you have enjoyed in the past will continue from your respective lawyers.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any queries regarding the above.”
There’s a number of things that jump out like the ‘balls on blue Healer’ John Campbell was intimately involved in the Belgrave Finance scam that has just seen his mentor Hugh Hamilton convicted of 14 charges of theft. But people that is not the only theft that Mr Hamilton was involved in. Hugh Hamilton gave really bad advise to a number of his clients that saw them funneling funds into bank accounts controlled by Hugh Hamilton who then misappropriated those funds to pay off personal debts and keep a couple of unprofitable brothels afloat. This clown in a gown couldn’t organize a fuck in a brothel or a piss up in a brewery.
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Worth a read is the decision of the Taranaki Standards Committee No 1 who struck Hamilton off the roll of barristers and solicitors. Parts of that decision so obtuse and brown nosing to the prisoner Hugh Hamilton as to make LF’s stomach turn.
Judge DF Clarkson commenting on the admissions of Hugh Hamilton at paragraph [26] of his decision.
“ Mr Hamilton represented himself in what can be described as a very dignified manner. He accepted he had allowed himself “to become badly conflicted”
The words of Judge Clarkson’s legalese can roughgly be translated to – “Allowing himself to get caught misappropriating funds and stealing from his clients, giving the money over to be entangled in a seedy failing prostitution empire”
The learned Judge went on to find Hamilton guilty of bringing the legal profession into disrepute and quoting Bolton v Law Society at paragraph [30] of his judgment;
“ The most serious [lapse in professional conduct] involves proven dishonesty, whether or not leading to criminal proceedings and criminal penalties. In such cases the [solicitors disciplinary] Tribunal has almost invariably, no matter how strong the mitigation advance for the solicitor, ordered that he be struck off the roll of solicitors”
It is worth reading this judgment in it’s entirety as it details a prolonged orgy of criminal offending by Hamilton misappropriating money and deceiving clients. LF would love to know whether this recidivist criminal was charged in fact with these offences and if not, why not.
LF have been in contact with the local National Party branch and they have refused to comment on specific members quoting privacy issues. Off the record it was relayed to LF that if they were cancel the membership of National Party members because of serious criminal conduct they would hardly have a political party left. The National Party did confirm that convict Sir Douglas Graham was still a paid up member.
Lets now chat about Hamilton’s involvement in the “Sex trade”. Seems that good old Hugh only got into prostitution out of some misplaced sense of loyalty to a deceased client. What you say what load of shit is that, deceased clients don’t give a fuck about personal guarantees on a lease for a brothel, especially because they’re fucking dead.
No sorry, Judge DF Clarkson this filthy thieving little opportunist thought he could take over his deceased clients business for nothing and make a motsa of undeclared cash by flogging ‘gash’ to the mass, the drunken punters who spend their evenings lurking in the red light district of Wellington….he was so confident in this opportunity that he went out and brought another whorehouse in need of a bit of titillation, to create his very own prostitution empire.
To fund the renovations Hamilton misappropriated “graciously” a shit load of mulla from a client…sorry that should have read, Hamilton stole the cash from a client to clean up the brothel. The Learned judge recites the unintelligible shyte at paragraphs [5] and [6] of his judgment ;
“[5]…around 2000 or 2001 the practitioner, apparently from some misguided sense of loyalty to a deceased client .agreed to take over the guarantee of a lease of a brothel in Wellington, which had been run by his client…
[6]…A shelf company formed by the firm, PB Limited, was utilized to allow the client to invest initially $ 50,000 and later a total of $100,000 in another brothel business to be run in parallel with the original one..”
Davidson Armstrong and Campbell nominee company had an eye for decidedly risky investments and invested their clients hard earned cash and inheritances in lending strategies’ like mortgage advances at usury rates to the likes of Wellington fucktard, bankrupt and bullshit artist Terry Serepisos.
Investors to bear brunt of $2m debt
October 7th 2011
Individual investors are likely to bear the cost of Terry Serepisos’ $2 million debt to Waipukurau law firm DAC Legal’s nominee company.
An investors’ guide said funds were pegged to individual mortgages, such as the lending to Serepisos.
DAC typically would charge borrowers such as Serepisos 9 per cent interest but paid investors 6 per cent.
Mortgage manager Stephen Smith handled the day to day aspects of investing and was the liaison person in regards to investments with Midlands Mortgage Trust.
Midlands recently froze more than $40 million of investors’ money after Serepisos’ bankruptcy last week.
Midlands uses funds from the nominee mortgage companies of law firms DAC and Bramwell Grossman, of Hastings, and Halliwells, of Hawera.
The partners of DAC Legal – John Campbell, Bridget Chrystall and Juliet Van der Oord – do not guarantee funds invested in their nominee company.
Nor are the funds covered by the Solicitors Professional Indemnity Fund.
Lending decisions are made by DAC’s partners. Details of a proposed mortgage are sent to investors for them to sign their approval.
Investors cannot withdraw their funds from the nominee company unless a replacement investor can be found.
Former Central Hawke’s Bay mayor Hugh Hamilton resigned as a partner and director of DAC on June 30, amid allegations of impropriety.
He has since faced bankruptcy proceedings due to an unpaid debt for the purchase of the Wellington brothel.
DAC partner John Campbell has changed the registered address for the brothel from the law firm offices to Mr Hamilton’s private address.
Source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503462&objectid=11042994
Serespisos is driving around Wellington in a $35,000 dollar Jaguar, but only when he is not overseas touring Europe in horse drawn carriages with half naked lingerie models slurping champagne from hand cut crystal flutes……. “La dolce Vita baby!”
A spokesman for the assignee confirmed Mr Serepisos was given leave to travel to Greece, Los Angeles and Fiji this year. Last year he was allowed to travel to Los Angeles.
“Some of these were for personal reasons and others were as attempts to resolve bankruptcy debts,” he said.
“All travel was paid for by third parties, so creditors were not disadvantaged.” – YEAH RIGHT! Source; http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/business/9220244/Bankruptcy-fails-to-rein-in-Terry-Serepisos
LF have received a number of comments and many more emails on our Hugh Hamilton stories, and so thought we might reproduce two of the comments (below) for the information of those reading this piece. Obviously just two of the many disgruntled ex and current clients of Davidson Armstrong and Campbell.
Remaining clients…….. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED;
John Black says:
Reading the judgement (223 pages!) it is obvious Hamilton did not act alone…. what of the role of Trustee and DAC owner John Armstrong in this?? How does he escape the hangman’s noose?
michaelqtodd says:
I had lengthy dealings with this guy Hamilton in 2003. He repeatedly lied to the court and stole a lot of money off me with trickery. It is good to see him finally exposed. His partner Campbell is way worse though you need to investigate him. I am very surprised not to see him there as well but he is in much closer with all the local Police and judiciary so has obviously been let off. They all play golf together Hamilton, Campbell and the Hawkes Bay judges.
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