The man who once served as the Māori King's closest advisor has avoided being jailed for fraud.
Rangi Whakaruru stole more than $100,000 from Waikato-Tainui iwi.
It was an elaborate scheme which saw him use the money to buy himself a stomach stapling operation.
Standing in court on Wednesday, this was a fall from grace that Whakaruru thought would never happen.
Once serving as King Tuheitia's closest aide - he even spoke on his behalf while he was in hospital in 2016.
But today Whakaruru stood in the Auckland District Court, no longer connected to royalty.
In 2015, Whakaruru worked for the Ururangi Trust which supported the King's office.
The group applied for tens of thousands of dollars from Waikato-Tainui for the King's medical care.
But that's not where it went - instead Whakaruru used it to pay for his own stomach staple.
"Mr Whakaruru has effectively stolen from the iwi… and he has then tried unsuccessfully to cover his tracks," said criminal barrister Todd Simmonds.
The elaborate scheme involved getting the hospital to change invoice details from the surgery.
In all, over a one-year period Whakaruru stole $110,000.
Defence lawyers for Whakaruru argued that because of a life without any criminal record and a wish to undertake rehabilitation, he should receive home-detention.
His supporters wrote to the court "asking for mercy".
The judge agreed with the Serious Fraud Office that he had abused his power.
She said the iwi are the victims, and the reputation of the King's office had been compromised.
For elders like Māori politician Tuku Morgan, a tough sentence would be the only deterrent.
"The only fitting sentence for this man is jail time," Morgan said.
Despite that, Judge Emma Aitken said there was no point jailing Whakaruru.
"It makes no sense to send, in this case, a 57-year-old person to jail in circumstances where they have never been to jail before, and are unlikely to come before the courts again," said Aitken.
Whakaruru was sentenced to 12 months home detention and 300 hours of community work.
He was also ordered to pay back all the money he stole.
