Ronald Frederick donaldson of Waihi Beach was originally jailed for three years and ordered to repay the money.
He started receiving ACC in 1988 after injuring his back.
The Cown alleged that he claimed to be earing $170.00 a week as a part time cleaner, while actually working full time in his own businesses.
Donaldson's lawyers argued that the trial judge misled the jury about what constitutes ACC fraud, and jurors were prejudiced by a simplistic power point slide show.
The Court of Appeal overturned the conviction and ordered a retrial."
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09 December 2004
A millionaire accused of accident compensation fraud is to have a new trial.
The Court of Appeal at Wellington today granted a new trial to Ronald Frederick Donaldson, 62, of Waihi.
The court suppressed the reasons for its decision.
Donaldson stood trial in Hamilton District Court a year ago, accused of lying to ACC for eight years about the extent of the work he was performing while receiving compensation owing to a back injury.
He was in February sentenced to three years' jail and ordered to pay $380,000 reparation.
However, the Court of Appeal today overturned the decision and ordered a retrial.
Donaldson was accused of committing one of New Zealand's largest ACC frauds totalling nearly $500,000 between 1991 and 1998.
He was found guilty by a jury last year of 43 charges of using a document to obtain a pecuniary advantage from ACC between July 31, 1991 and September 27, 1999.
He was found not guilty of 35 charges between 1988 and June 1991.
The Crown said Donaldson worked nearly full-time over 10 years from 1988 when he received ACC compensation.
In sentencing Donaldson in February, Judge Robert Wolff accepted that Donaldson suffered an injury but the issue was whether or not he was entitled to claim the benefit.
Judge Wolff summed up Donaldson's offending as "defrauding by inertia".
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