Johannes Izak Frederik Strydom, 40, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday after admitting a charge of theft in a special relationship.
According to Companies Office records, the defendant is the sole director and shareholder of Aotearoa Property Management Ltd, but the firm was in the process of being removed from the register for not filing annual returns.
In January 2024, a family friend entrusted Strydom with the management of her rental property when she moved overseas.
The defendant agreed to transfer rent payments into her account after deducting his fees and the arrangement went smoothly for the first couple of months.
But following that, the financial transactions became sporadic.
The victim repeatedly tried to contact Strydom but he remained "elusive", according to court documents.
He gave a "litany of false reasons" as to why the money was not being transferred and at times blamed it on unreliable tenants.
But when the homeowner informed the defendant she was returning to New Zealand to straighten out the issues, he came clean — almost.
Strydom told the woman he had been using the cash for himself, to prop up a failing business.
The court heard yesterday, the funds had in fact been supporting his methamphetamine addiction.
In total the victim was deprived of $11,476.
None of the sum had been repaid since the crimes had come to light a year ago, Judge Hermann Retzlaff noted.
Counsel John Westgate said his client was adamant he wanted to settle the debt but he was currently on the benefit.
"His business has gone, his relationship with his partner has gone ... He needs to pull himself up by his bootstraps and start again," he said.
Strydom’s drug addiction had begun with the breakdown of his marriage in 2023.
"People handle things in different ways," Mr Westgate said.
The judge referenced a statement from the victim which outlined both the emotional and financial cost she and her partner had endured.
"They trusted you," Judge Retzlaff said.
The victim and her partner had relied on the rent payments to pay the mortgage and now they were sceptical as to whether Strydom would pay them back.
The defendant had no previous convictions and was assessed as a low risk of reoffending by Probation.
But the judge said unless Strydom learned to control his addiction he remained a threat to the community.
He was sentenced to 24 months’ intensive supervision, 175 hours’ community work and ordered to repay the stolen money.
