PAULA AROHA TOLEAFOA AND THE KING - [2024] NZCA 517

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF NEW ZEALAND

I TE KŌTI PĪRA O AOTEAROA

CA127/2023
[2024] NZCA 517

BETWEEN	PAULA AROHA TOLEAFOA Appellant
AND	THE KING Respondent

Hearing:	27 August 2024
Court:	Palmer, Whata and Downs JJ
Counsel:	H G de Groot and T W R Lynskey for Appellant A J Gordon and P Patanasiri for Respondent
Judgment:	14 October 2024 at 4 pm

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

The appeal is dismissed.

____________________________________________________________________

REASONS OF THE COURT

(Given by Whata J)

Ms Paula Toleafoa appeals against her conviction having been found guilty of 59 charges of money laundering to the value of $431,328.35.[1]
[1]R v Toleafoa [2022] NZDC 7775 at [1].
The issues on appeal are:
(a)whether the verdicts were unreasonable;
(b)whether the Judge should have given tripartite and counter-intuitive directions; and
(c)whether some of the transactions qualify as money laundering.

Alleged offending

Paula Toleafoa’s husband, Mr Luther Toleafoa, was a drug dealer. He was found guilty on 51 charges of methamphetamine-related offending spanning the period 29 October 2018 to 5 December 2018.[2] He also pleaded guilty to the following charges:
(a)A representative charge that, between 1 April 2016 and 3 December 2018, he was party to offending involving 381 cash deposits totalling $390,009.20 into 14 different bank accounts in his name, the name of Paula Toleafoa,[3] or into various business accounts.
(b)A representative charge that, between 1 April 2016 and 3 December 2018, he spent $71,982 in cash, which were the proceeds of an offence, to purchase various goods and services (each of which was specified).
[2]R v Toleafoa [2021] NZDC 23902.
[3]This included bank accounts in other names used by Ms Toleafoa.
Attached as Appendix A is a schedule, as provided by the Crown with minor alterations, detailing the transactions subject to the charges and the associated value of the transactions.

Crown case

On the Crown case, Ms Toleafoa was directly involved in this money laundering. During the charge period, there was evidence showing that Ms Toleafoa made numerous large cash deposits into multiple ATMs across 14 bank accounts that were in her name or other names that she used, in the name of various companies, and in the name of Mr Toleafoa; Ms Toleafoa used cards issued both to herself and Mr Toleafoa; available CCTV footage showed cash deposits were made exclusively by Ms Toleafoa; and various receipts and invoices were in Ms Toleafoa’s name, such as for spending on travel and hotel accommodation. The Crown also says that the value of cash deposits and cash expenses by Ms Toleafoa and Mr Toleafoa totalled $733,740.70, of which $537,739.41 had no known source. Of this, $197,912.41 worth of cash deposits were known to have been made by Ms Toleafoa. In the same period, she spent $73,000 on “lifestyle” expenses which included flights, travel packages, a property portfolio, hotel stays, jewellery, party expenses, furniture, handbags and Botox treatments.
The Crown identified two potential sources of income — First Class Property Management Ltd (First Class), owned and managed…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Keep reading for free

Create a free CaseChat account to read PAULA AROHA TOLEAFOA AND THE KING and more:

Read every judgment in full
Ask AI and get answers linked to paragraphs
See how each paragraph was cited in later cases
Download judgments as PDF or Word

Continue with Google

One click creates your free account or signs you in.

By continuing you agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy.

Details

Case: [2024] NZCA 517
Decision Date: 14 October 2024 at 4 pm

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Paula Aroha Toleafoa appeals against her conviction on 59 charges of money laundering, for which she was found guilty by the High Court. The Court of Appeal, consisting of Palmer, Whata, and Downs JJ, dismissed the appeal. The central issue was whether the jury's verdicts were unreasonable, considering the evidence presented. The Crown argued that Toleafoa was complicit in laundering money from her husband's methamphetamine dealing, amounting to $431,328.35. Toleafoa, however, maintained her innocence, claiming she was unaware of her husband's criminal activities and that the money in question derived from her legitimate businesses. The Court found that the jury's verdicts were reasonable, given the substantial evidence linking Toleafoa to the cash deposits and spending, which included her use of her bank cards, CCTV footage showing her making deposits, and various receipts and invoices in her name. The Court rejected Toleafoa's claims that the verdicts were unreasonable and that the trial judge should have provided a full tripartite direction. It also found that the spending of illicit funds on luxury items and services qualified as acts of concealment under the money laundering legislation. Therefore, the appeal was dismissed.

Orders