March 05, 2026

#national: Former Trust CEO Charged Over Alleged $2.1 Million Fraud

Matthew Tukaki Posted On March 5, 2026

The Serious Fraud Office has filed multiple charges against a former chief executive of a charitable trust, alleging the misappropriation of more than $2.1 million across several organisations.

Matekino Marshall appeared in the Manukau District Court facing a range of charges linked to his previous leadership roles within community and charitable trusts.

According to the Serious Fraud Office, the charges relate to alleged financial misconduct involving the Ngāti Tamaoho Trust, the Port Waikato Community Health and Support Services Trust, and another entity connected to Mr Marshall.

Prosecutors allege that while serving as chief executive of the Ngāti Tamaoho Trust, Mr Marshall misappropriated $547,408. The charges connected to that period include three representative counts of obtaining by deception, one representative charge of accessing a computer system for a dishonest purpose, and four representative charges relating to the dishonest use of documents.

Further allegations relate to Mr Marshall’s role as chairperson of the Port Waikato Community Health and Support Services Trust. Investigators claim that during this time he accessed a computer system for a dishonest purpose and misappropriated $1,454,895 from the organisation.

The Serious Fraud Office has also laid charges relating to an additional $120,000 that investigators say was misappropriated from another entity connected to Mr Marshall. That amount was later repaid.

In a separate allegation, Mr Marshall is accused of using a forged document in order to maintain his VIP Black Card membership status at SkyCity Casino.

Mr Marshall has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

He appeared in the Manukau District Court on 5 March and has been remanded on bail. A trial has been scheduled to begin on 26 July 2027 and is expected to run for approximately six weeks.

The case is part of the Serious Fraud Office’s ongoing work investigating complex financial crime involving organisations entrusted with public or community resources.

Further court proceedings will determine the outcome of the charges.