Nelson's Le Posh bakery duo escape to Australia amid debt claims

An acquaintance of a couple who ran French bakery Le Posh said they appeared to have fled the country suddenly, leaving a household of personal items, including a 40-year collection of souvenir bells from around the world.

A civil claim against Veronica and Didier Crevecoeur over unpaid rent on commercial premises in Nelson has lifted the lid on a trail of debt and deceit left by the couple.

NZME recently revealed how the pair failed to appear in the Nelson District Court in June for a hearing in which they were ordered to pay more than $29,000 in unpaid rent, damages and legal costs to the owners of a building where they ran one of their bakeries.

Other people claimed they too had been left out of pocket after dealings with the couple who arrived in New Zealand about 2018.

Now, two more people have come forward, saying they are also owed money.

'I need your help'

Software engineer Steve, who lived near the Crevecoeurs in an exclusive area of Nelson's port hills, considered the couple as friends.

"At some point, Veronica came to see me - I think it was in November last year. She called me and said, 'I need your help, can I come to see you?'"

Steve alleged Veronica then told him a "very strange story" about her father and someone she knew in Spain, and how they needed about 3000-4000 Euros ($NZ5800-7804) to send.

He said she was very convincing, but he did not have that kind of money to lend.

In the days before the Crevecoeurs left, Steve said Veronica sent him another message, asking again for money.

He alleged she needed almost $1000 to cover what he believed might have been rent.

"I didn't send the money, but she was very insistent.

"She sent me many messages in a way that was very strange."

Steve said he began to get suspicious, but finally relented and gave Veronica a couple of hundred dollars.

"She was saying, 'I will pay you back tomorrow, I will pay you back tomorrow', and then she sent me more messages asking for more [money]."

Steve arranged to pay $300 via a bank transfer, so he had a record, then tried to reach the couple a few days later, but said he got no reply.

The Crevecoeurs had left, without paying it back.

Steve understood the couple flew to Perth, where they had family, a few days after his final communication with them on 20 February.

He was curious about why she did not respond to his text messages, so he went to the home they rented.

He found them gone, and the landlord sorting through a stack of expensive clothes, a huge collection of shoes and the large collection of souvenir bells.

Latin band left out of pocket

Nelson-based Italian/Kiwi musician Raffaele Bandoli said the Latin band he played in was left out of pocket, when the Crevecoeurs failed to pay in full, after hiring them to mark France's Bastille Day at an event in Blenheim in July 2019.

Bandoli said the band - Los Galanes - was paid a $1100 deposit for the $2245 gig, but he claims they never saw the rest of it.

Bandoli said band leader and founder Jose Luis Perez paid individual band members from his own pocket.

Los Galanes, which at times has been a 10-piece band, was then a seven-piece.

"He was such a responsible and nice person that he paid all the members of the band regardless," Bandoli said.

He wanted to speak out, in honour of Perez, who died suddenly in March last year, while travelling in Europe with partner and band administrator Rebecca Knox.

Knox said Perez always paid his musicians a set fee, but the "biggie" for them was Veronica Crevecoeur.

"At first, she was really lovely to deal with," she said.

The band covered its own costs travelling from Nelson to Blenheim, the event went well and the Crevecoeurs seemed pleased.

An invoice was sent, but she claims there was no reply. Another statement was sent and they tried contacting the Crevecoeurs by phone, but still nothing.

They hired a debt collector to recover the money, but when he went to serve the notice in Blenheim, the premises were empty.

Knox said Perez had pleaded with Veronica to pay the remainder of the fee.

"Jose would leave messages saying, 'Veronica, this is really urgent for the survival of the band'."

When she noticed the shop Le Posh pop up in Nelson, it was "a massive red flag". Knox was then floored, when she saw the second Le Posh open up near Nelson's Tāhunanui Beach.

The Crevecoeurs moved to Nelson from Marlborough about 2021.

The opening of the second store was the beginning of the end of their New Zealand chapter.

Le Posh: Unpaid rent

The property investment firm, Tawero Holdings (No 2) Ltd, from whom the Crevecoeurs leased the second premises in November 2022, lodged court action, when they abandoned the lease, owing $13,175 in rent and outgoings.

A spokesperson for Tawero claimed the couple were masters of deceit.

He said taking legal action was a decision not made lightly, but "a lot of deception" had been at play.

"We are not novices at this and we were taken in."

Tawero Holdings was granted, a summary judgement of $22,547 against the Crevecoeurs, as well as several thousand more in costs associated with reletting the premises, plus damages.

A final dinner before they were gone

Steve decided to share his story, after reading about what else they had done. He and his wife had shared a few dinners with the Crevecoeurs at each others' homes or at a nearby Thai restaurant.

Their last dinner together was earlier this year, when the Crevecoeurs brought French food to share and some drink.

He believed they had Australian citizenship, and planned to spend six months there and six months in France, where they owned a small house near Dieppe, where Didier was from.

"They want to split their time in France between there and Paris, because Veronica really loves Paris," Steve said.

NZME has been unable to locate the Crevecoeurs for comment.

-This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.