Hamilton accountant faces fraud charges over alleged $1.3m theft

Thursday, 9 July 2026

The Serious Fraud Office has filed charges against Hamilton accountant David Waine, pictured outside court ahead of his appearance on Wednesday.

A Hamilton accountant has appeared in court accused of stealing over a million dollars of client funds.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has filed charges against accountant David Waine, alleging that he stole more than $1.3 million in funds from three of his clients.

Waine faces three charges of theft by a person in a special relationship and one of false accounting and appeared in court on Wednesday.

He is alleged to have offered investment opportunities to one client and then used the money to pay off his own debts, business expenses and to replace money taken from other clients.

Of the $1.09 million Waine received from the client, the SFO alleged that in reality he only invested $25,000 of it. He is also accused of taking more than $240,000 from other client funds for personal and business expenses.

This comes after the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants ordered an interim membership suspension in 2024 following allegations of misappropriating client funds.

Waine’s company, Matley Ltd, was placed in liquidation on October 21 last year and he is set to reappear in court on August 25.