1:40 PM |
I was taken for a ride: Lomu
4:00AM Saturday Sep 05, 2009By Patrick Gower
Jonah Lomu says he was duped by a proposal to become "the global face of kickboxing", made by an Auckland restaurateur now under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office.
Lomu told the Weekend Herald he agreed to a big-money contract to promote a kickboxing world series, but "got taken for a ride".
He said the deal was arranged by Loizos Michaels, but he was not paid and the venture failed last year.
"The worst part of it was that he was using my name," said Lomu.
Mr Michaels - known in Auckland circles as "Michael" - is a Cypriot from Melbourne who owns Plato's Greek Taverna on Ponsonby Rd.
The Weekend Herald last week revealed National Party president Peter Goodfellow was helping a Serious Fraud Office investigation after losing $100,000 when a friend was caught in an alleged scam involving Mr Michaels.
Mr Michaels has denied any wrongdoing. He declined to comment yesterday.
Lomu said he had not invested any money with Mr Michaels, but had done "months and months" of work.
"I trusted him. I gave him a chance. He crapped on me."
He said it was disappointing to have his name linked to the venture, which ended up on Fair Go when a group of young models did not get paid.
He described Mr Michaels as a "pretty smooth operator" who initially convinced him there were international backers for the KO kickboxing world series and a boxing spin-off.
But events planned for Macau and Wellington never eventuated and Lomu said his contract was not honoured.
He would not disclose what the contract was worth, only saying it was "big enough".
Lomu said he had not been contacted by the SFO but would assist investigators if he could.
The nature of the dealings the SFO is investigating is unknown, but it is understood the complainant is former Christchurch Casino manager Stephen Lyttelton who is well connected to the National Party and a lifelong friend of Mr Goodfellow.
Mr Lyttelton left Christchurch Casino in a storm of controversy in 2007 and became involved in dealings with Mr Michaels.
Former Labour MP John Tamihere said he met Mr Michaels and Mr Lyttelton about "a bid to buy SkyCity casino" they wanted him to do Government lobbying for.
Mr Tamihere said Mr Michaels "appeared to be the conductor" and "dropped the names Ho and Packer", implying they were financiers of the bid. The Ho family are casino tycoons from Macau with links to Australian billionaire James Packer.
Mr Tamihere said he did a little work but soon walked away because "I've been around the mulberry bush a few times and it just wasn't right".
National Government minister Gerry Brownlee became a director of a casino consultancy with Mr Lyttelton and Mr Goodfellow at the same time, but yesterday said he had neither met nor heard of Mr Michaels.
Mr Brownlee said he joined the company because Mr Lyttelton was a friend and he thought it was going to be involved with quality control of casinos. But once he saw reports the company was seeking a casino licence "I was out of there quick smart".
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