Fitzgibbon’s fraud was uncovered in April 2020, when ACK went into receivership, and debt collectors found out the invoices, supposedly for roadwork projects in Christchurch, were completely bogus. Judge GM Lynch noted Fitzgibbon’s remorse and the significant personal cost he endured, including selling his family home to help cover debts. Vanessa Cook from the criminal enforcement team called it a “moderately sophisticated” crime involving premeditated false invoices to get faster cash flow from financiers.
The scam, which Fitzgibbon set in motion during a tense financial period, was designed to secure quicker payments via “forecasted data,” yet backfired when creditors like Canterbury Invoice Finance Limited, trading as FIFO Capital, tried to collect the debts. By the time ACK’s receivership closed in 2021, the company still owed $90,000 to FIFO Capital after repayments. With additional debts piling up, including $262,000 to Inland Revenue and $355,000 to unsecured creditors, the final report confirmed no funds were available for creditors, leaving Fitzgibbon to shoulder a significant portion of the fallout.
