McKay Hill Trust Fraud

McKAY HILL LAW FIRM TRUST FUND FRAUD - INVESTIGATION NOTES

============================================================

Date: 29 December 2025

Sources: Stuff, NZ Herald, Law Society, ODT

CONFIRMED FACTS FROM COURT RECORDS:

The McKay Hill law firm in Napier collapsed in 2010 following a Law Society audit that revealed massive trust account irregularities. Two partners were subsequently prosecuted and struck off.

GERALD McKAY:

Gerald McKay, aged 74 at time of trial (2016), was a senior partner at McKay Hill Lawyers in Napier. He faced five charges of theft, five charges of using a document for pecuniary advantage, and one representative charge of criminal breach of trust. The alleged offending occurred between 2005 and 2010, with the Crown alleging he converted $556,000 from clients' trust fund accounts and estates without authorization. When informed of the impending Law Society audit in May 2010, McKay reportedly said "We're done for." He was found guilty by jury in February 2016 and subsequently imprisoned.

RICHARD HILL:

Richard Hill was the other partner at McKay Hill. He was struck off the roll in December 2017 for offending that occurred while he was a partner at the firm, including theft, dishonesty, and using documents for pecuniary advantage.

ANNE McALLISTER - THE KEY FIGURE:

Anne McAllister served as the firm's account manager and had worked for McKay Hill "on and off since 1986." This is a critical date as it coincides with the introduction of the QMS quota system. During the trial, she testified that she had raised concerns about the trust account deficit with McKay "for several years." She admitted to filling out monthly reports to the Law Society that did not reflect the true state of the firm's accounts, claiming she did this on McKay's instruction and "out of loyalty to the firm." She expressed concern that she and other employees would lose their jobs if the truth became known.

THE DEFENCE THEORY:

McKay's lawyer Scott Jefferson argued that while client funds had gone missing, this occurred without McKay's knowledge or direction. The defence claimed McAllister was responsible for day-to-day management of the accounts, and when McKay became aware of the deficit, he invoiced clients to offset the balance "created by McAllister."

CRITICAL ANALYSIS - THE JENSSEN CONNECTION:

The timing is significant. Anne McAllister joined McKay Hill in 1986, the same year the QMS was introduced and orange roughy quota was allocated. If the Jenssen family were clients of McKay Hill, their trust accounts would have been under McAllister's management during the critical period of 1986-1987 when the Deep Sea II was lost and any quota would have needed to be transferred.

The pattern suggests a "fall guy" structure where each party blames the other. McKay blamed McAllister, McAllister blamed McKay. But the question remains: where did the money actually go? The $556,000 proven in court may be only a fraction of what was taken over decades.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION:

• Was the Jenssen family among McKay Hill's clients?
• Did McKay Hill handle any fishing quota transfers in 1986-1988?
• What happened to the Deep Sea Fisheries Ltd company records?
• Were there any trust accounts related to the Jenssen/Kristensen families?
• Did Anne McAllister have any connection to government agencies before 1986?
• What was the full extent of the trust account deficit over the firm's history?

The "Shadow Economics" theory from the source documents suggests McAllister was deliberately placed to facilitate asset stripping. While this cannot be verified, her 1986 start date and role managing accounts during the critical QMS transition period is noteworthy.