Foord finds conscience on deathbed 

A deathbed payout has been made by a man investigated by Fair Go for fraud, almost a decade ago.

Neil Foord has given money to TVNZ with instructions to pay back children he conned, when he ran a dodgy talent agency in the 90s.

Nine years ago Fair Go screened three stories about Foord's talent agency Real Kiwis and its mainly young victims who signed up for film and television work and were not paid.

Suffering from advanced cancer, he invited Fair Go to an interview at his deathbed last week.

Foord handed over a $1,000 cheque at the interview, saying he wanted the money to go to the children who had not been paid for extras roles.

Foord's chequered past included prison time and a conviction for rape.

At the last interview he said accusations he had indecently assaulted women when they came to the agency were "absolute nonsence".

He was also interviewed as a suspect in the case of Kirsty Bentley, the 15 year-old who was murdered near Ashburton in 1998.

"Iv'e been subjected to a campaign of filth for a long time. None of it's true. This is not a deathbed confession or anything like it," he said.
 
Protesting his innocence to the end, Foord said he did not have a guilty conscience.

"It's not guilt money - I didn't set out to be a scammer."

On Friday - the day after the interview - Neil Foord died.

For more about the interview see Fair Go's web page.