Because he’s now bankrupt he lost control of his side of a hearing at the High Court in Wellington which ended on Friday with a judge reserving her decision on The Vintage Aviator and a related trust’s claim for up to $4.2 million from DeMarco and his company. The company was put into liquidation this week. The Official Assignee, who is now in charge of DeMarco s estate, believes a WWII fighter plane, a Corsair, of unknown value, will be a prime asset to meet as yet unknown creditors’ claims. But the Official Assignee’s lawyer, Gareth Neil, admitted in court to having no idea how to go about selling a vintage plane.
DeMarco borrowed the money to buy shares in a company that owned two prized World War II fighter planes. But the Jackson trust was not repaid and, by 2016, with interest the debt had swollen to $1.1 million. To try to repay the loan, DeMarco diverted to his own company more than $2m from an Auckland aviation charity that was to buy three planes from The Vintage Aviator. He negotiated the sale of the three planes, but at a price inflated by a “secret commission” of $621,000.
Piers Fuller/Stuff
Eugene DeMarco was a production manager for The Vintage Aviator Ltd. (File photo)