Five gang members or associates of the Tribesmen Aotearoa chapter are undergoing trial for murder in the Hamilton High Court, having been alleged to have killed fellow chapter member Mark “Shark” Hohua in 2022. He had been subjected to a “hot box”, a form of physical punishment used by the gang to reprimand their members when they had done something wrong- in this case the personal use of chapter funds. Matt, while defending one of the accused Te Patukino Biddle, stated that the meeting the hot box was done at wasn’t held with the focus of carrying out the punishment, but was instead to address the gang’s wider problems with their rivals, the Killer Bees. Matt would go on to state that while Te Patukino had finished with his role in the punishment, others would go on to continue it excessively, eventually resulting in Mark fleeing and falling down some dangerous stairs that resulted in the harm. Read the full article here.

Heather du Plessis-Allan from Newstalk ZB interviewed Matt Goodwin seeking his perspective on the potential for criminal liability in the death of a Palmerston North teen participating in a ‘run it straight’ game. Matt explained that the Police may have been hasty in reaching a decision not to carry out criminal investigations, especially in light of the manner of harm, but acknowledged that the Police are privy to facts that the public are not. Listen to the interview here.

The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has been criticised for their delayed response in issuing scam warnings. This is in connection to the $1 million lost by the scam victim in the case handled by Matt Goodwin below, meaning that the FMA are suggested to have contributed to the success of the scam. In trial, Matt said the case should be a ‘wake up call’ for the FMA. Read full article here.

A professional Auckland businessman has been found guilty of money laundering after he opened a Westpac account, received nearly $2 million from two scam victims, then funnelled their life savings overseas. Lead defence counsel Matthew Goodwin said his client was “foolish” rather than reckless. Read full article here.