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A real estate businessman with a history of offending has been sentenced to prison time after taking part in the management of five companies despite a ban from being involved directly or indirectly with a business.

Aaron Coupe was sentenced to four years and five months of imprisonment by the Auckland District Court in January for two charges under the Companies Act 1993.

Coupe had initially appealed a decision to try and maintain permanent name suppression, however, this appeal was abandoned on March 13, 2025.

Real estate businessman and serial offender Aaron Coupe was sentenced to four years and five months' imprisonment for taking part in the management of companies in breach of the law.

Judge Nevin Dawson noted that the gravity of Coupe’s offences and his degree of culpability were “very high”.

“It is apparent that you are a very glib huckster, very talented at taking in people with all your tales about over-ambitious projects and you managed to take in experienced business persons with your tales,” the judge said.

“You take no responsibility for any of your actions and lay the blame upon every other person or institution with whom you have had dealings.”

Prior offending

Coupe’s offences date back to 2010, when he was adjudicated bankrupt after prosecution by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). At the time, Coupe had restrictions placed on him to stop his involvement with companies.

Charges were then filed in respect of his conduct during his bankruptcy in 2014.

Coupe pleaded guilty to eight charges under the Insolvency Act 2006 in October 2014.

In 2016 after the plea, he was sentenced to 12 months' home detention, 200 hours of community work and ordered to pay $75,100.68 in reparation.

The convictions meant Coupe, who was the sole director and shareholder of Greys Avenue Investments Ltd, was prohibited from being a director or being involved in the management of a company for five years from August 5, 2016.

Despite the prohibition and without approval from the court, Coupe took part in the management of five companies after the decision, including Greys Avenue Investments.

Business Registries Investigations and Compliance team manager Vanessa Cook said Coupe’s “blatant violation of his prohibition contributed to serious losses to New Zealand and overseas creditors”.

“Mr Coupe disregarded these safeguards and took part in the management of various companies, exposing the public to mismanagement and manipulative behaviour.”

Serious impact

According to the case, Coupe’s mismanagement of the five companies caused “substantial financial loss” and “significant emotional distress” for those he engaged with.

His offending included unsecured creditors' claims of $970,126.20 in the liquidation of Greys Avenue Investments.

Coupe then had unsecured creditors’ claims of $2.89 million in the liquidation of Ascent, which was involved in his joint venture project.

He then lost an investment of $3.5m by Gary Oda, an American property developer, for developing a property at 48 Greys Ave in Auckland into a luxury hotel.

Coupe also caused estimated damage of $700,000 to a property in Auckland that he wanted to develop but did not complete the construction work for.

Finally, Coupe caused significant financial loss to the owners of the spa and hot pool complex at Cardrona Valley who purchased land at Coupe’s request.

The owners ended up paying for the interest on the loan as Coupe failed to honour his commitment to cover the interest repayment and legal fees for two years of negotiations.

Coupe caused upwards of $8m in losses to business partners, banks and creditors across the world.

“MBIE would like to thank all witnesses and others who assisted MBIE’s investigation into Mr Coupe,” Cook added.

Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business and retail.