Auckland judge David Clark decided the risk was too high that Breingan would not come back willingly
Auckland District Court judge David Clark has ordered ex-Stripe Studios managing director and television producer Alex Breingan to return to New Zealand immediately to be tried on 33 fraud and forgery charges, reported the NZ Herald.
The charges involved $14.5m in public and private funds. Breingan, who resides in Los Angeles, had been attending court through video link thus far; his lawyer Steven Lack had filed an application that Breingan continue to appear in this manner, assuring the court that Breingan would attend a full trial in person.
However, Clark was not convinced and dismissed the application. In the process, he also rejected an application for Breingan to make video appearances at further preliminary court hearings.
“I consider the risk is too high that [Breingan] will not voluntarily return to New Zealand or return in compliance with any form of bail conditions”, the judge wrote in his ruling, a snippet of which was published by the Herald. “It follows, that Mr Breingan must return to New Zealand now and must attend all preliminary and substantive matters in relation to the charges”.
In October 2025, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) accused Breingan of making false representations and using forged documents to secure over $4.3m in government-financed rebates. He supposedly obtained $6.91m from Kiwibank and $3.26m from Australian firm Fulcrum Media Finance to finance 13 productions in a similar manner.
The shows include The Circus, Rich Listers 2, Great Southern Truckers, Snow Crew, and Izzy and Beaver’s French Connection, as well as New Zealand travel shows starring actors David Hasselhoff and Iliza Shlesinger. The SFO claimed that Breingan used distribution agreements supposedly involving Australian firm Fred Media; he also supposedly made false representations regarding the presale finance or payment terms in the agreements.
He reportedly secured the final certificate for The Circus by deceiving the New Zealand Film Commission. Kiwibank was the lender involved in the Snow, Gold, France, Rich Listers 2 and Circus 4 productions; meanwhile, Fulcrum Media Finance was the lender involved in the series featuring Hasselhoff and Shlesinger, among others.
According to the SFO, Breingan falsely claimed that the productions had fulfilled the criteria to draw down loan applications. He reportedly indicated that he had obtained certain levels of distribution guarantee payments from Fred Media; he also claimed that Film Commission provisional certificates had received approval.
The SFO filed forgery charges over international money transfers and ASB and Kiwibank bank statements as well. A couple of years previously, the Film Commission had flagged funding issues involving Breingan’s old production firm.
Each charge could land Breingan in jail for up to 7-10 years. He pleaded not guilty to all of them and chose for the matter to be tried before a jury.
Lack had sought a warrant to lift Breingan’s arrest. He claimed that the producer was in the US on a visa permitting him to work as a foreign media representative, but Breingan had since applied for residency-related immigration status. Thus, having to return to New Zealand could jeopardise his immigration status.
The SFO’s lawyer, Nick Williams, countered that millions of dollars were involved and that Breingan could face jail. The office added that permitting Breingan to make court appearances via video would weaken the case for extradition proceedings; moreover, Williams said an outstanding warrant for Breingan’s arrest was needed to progress the extradition process.
Clark voiced the possibility that should Breingan be forthcoming with US immigration authorities on his ongoing case in New Zealand, his application would already be impacted. The judge also noted that while the SFO conceded that Breingan had only been informed of the charges in detail in December 2025, he was already aware of the investigation.
“Currently he is not within the jurisdiction of the court and is not subject to any bail conditions. I need to be satisfied that if bail is granted on the condition offered by Mr Breingan it is reasonable to assume the risks in ss 8(1) and 30(4) of the Bail Act will be met. The primary risk is that he will not appear at his trial”, the judge wrote in the ruling, a snippet of which was published by the Herald.
Clark said the earliest schedule open for a full two-week jury trial would be May 2028.
“Mr Breingan’s offer, as a bail condition, to return to New Zealand within three months of his trial would mean he would not be required to return to New Zealand until January 2028”, the judge wrote in the ruling. “While this gives him the distinct advantage of time for his immigration status to be clarified, for him to work and, for him to spend time with his new family, the grant of bail and the imposition of the condition does not necessarily lead to an easy conclusion he will return to New Zealand when he says he will”.
He noted that Breingan’s promise to return could be hindered by three factors.
“First, if the warrant is cancelled, Mr Breingan’s return depends solely on his assurance that he will return. In the context of all of the competing factors, I place little weight on his stated wish to clear his name alone. Second, I am concerned that Mr Breingan has not disclosed these charges to [the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)]”, Clark wrote in his ruling, a snippet of which was published by the Herald. “Although it is unclear whether Mr Breingan knew of the charges when he filed [his residency] application, nothing prevents him from making a supplementary disclosure to USCIS now of information plainly material to it and the application. Third, if disclosure ends Mr Breingan’s residency application and/or his ability to remain in the United States is placed into jeopardy, it then remains unclear whether he would voluntarily return to New Zealand”.
The judge conceded that the charges were serious in nature and carried the possibility of “significant custodial time”.
“It follows, that Mr Breingan must return to New Zealand now and must attend all preliminary and substantive matters in relation to the charges”, Clark concluded in his judgment.
The case is now set to move to a Crown case review, according to the Herald. Breingan will make his next court appearance in November.
The SFO said it had submitted an application to extradite Breingan from the US; the application is said to be with the US justice department.
