New Zealand golfers have been victims of large-scale fraud carried out through a golfing magazine, police say.
The Hibiscus Coast-based New Zealand Golf Gazette is owned by New Zealand Golfer Ltd, which was placed in receivership on August 9.
Detective Simon Eckersley of the Waikato Fraud Squad said initial investigations revealed a magazine editor had allegedly defrauded dozens of golf clubs and individuals.
No charges have been laid but police released a statement on Wednesday in the hope that other alleged victims would come forward.
Waihi police had been investigating one case of a credit card being "double dipped" when it became apparent the alleged offending was more serious.
"Golfing New Zealand had already put out an email warning to clubs appealing for details but until our first complainant contacted police we had no idea of the scale of offending," Det Eckersley said.
One of the scams involved selling golf shoes to clubs across the country.
"We understand the man ordered 1000 pairs of golf shoes and on-sold them to members of golf clubs in the Canterbury, Nelson, Taranaki, Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Auckland areas.
"Some people received their shoes while many didn't while the supplier was also left out of pocket.
"One Auckland golf club had 40-50 members affected and we're now dealing with 67 independent victims who are both clubs and individuals from across the country."
When NZ Newswire called NZ Golfer's receiver John Gilbert, of CNC Strategic, on Wednesday he said was still carrying out his investigations and was trying to contact police.
"I can say I have had unconfirmed reports of fraud and complaints from creditors," he said.
A message left on the magazine's phone says it has been closed.
NZN
