US investor may lose NZ farm

Dick Schomburg, an Illinois construction company owner and hunting enthusiast, is accused of failing to disclose a conviction in his homeland when he sought approval to buy into the property. The case was called in Wellington District Court last week but adjourned till next month while more information was sought by the commission.

Mr Schomburg, who also has interests in grain farming, was granted approval in February 2003 to buy into the Benmore sheep station at the entrance to Porters Pass in Canterbury.

He paid $1.35 million for a half share of the 1555-hectare (3850-acre) farm, owned by Warrick and Celia James, and planned to develop a game hunting park for tourists.Nine months after he bought the stake, it was revealed Mr Schomburg had been convicted in the US of breaking hunting laws. He was fined $15,000 in 2000 after admitting buying and selling an antelope illegally, and banned from hunting in the US for a year.

Despite providing a certificate of good character in his application to the commission – backed up by Illinois law enforcement officials – he failed to disclose the conviction and now faces being forced to sell his share in the South Island farm.

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