Intimidating roofing contractor who featured on Fair Go sentenced to jail

June 15, 2020

In sentencing the judge said there was a calculated, criminal element to the way Sam Spence behaved.

One of Fair Go's most unusual, most intimidating tradies, Sam Spence, has been sentenced to jail for five years, three months.

The roofing contractor was sentenced on multiple charges including running phoenix companies, managing companies while bankrupt, attempting to pervert the course of justice and using forged documents.

In sentencing Spence, Judge Sharp said that there was a calculated, criminal element to the way Spence had behaved.

Spence first appeared on Fair Go in March 2018, as the result of work his company, Compass Roofing, had done for another roofing contractor, Martin Culpan.

When Martin questioned the work, Martin and his secretary, Monique, were hit with a barrage of intimidating, threatening and lewd texts and phone calls from Spence.

The Fair Go story helped bring Spence to the attention of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Its case against Spence was described as at the extreme end of the scale.

MBIE spokesperson Rob Rendle said Spence let his companies fail knowingly, in order to deprive his creditors and the people he dealt with of the chance to recover the debts he owed. He said Spence had caused significant harm to a lot of vulnerable people.

MBIE thanked Spence's victims, including those who'd appeared on Fair Go, for bringing this case to public attention.
 

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