The businesswoman behind the failed bid for a Bay of Plenty family's farming empire has been sentenced to prison.

May Hao, formerly known as May Wang, 53, and two former senior executives of a listed company behind the bid of the Crafar farms, were found guilty of fraud at the end of April over the acquisition of the 22 dairy farms throughout the North Island.

May Hao originally denied her charges, which included conspiracy to defraud. Photo: Lawrence Smith/FAIRFAX NZ.

CraFarms (or Crafar Farms) was a group of companies of which Allan, Beth and Frank Crafar were directors. Crafar Farms was New Zealand's largest family-owned dairy business.

In 1981 Frank, Allan and Beth brought their first farm together in Reporoa. Eventually the family business owned 22 dry stock and dairy farms with approximately 20,000 cows in various regions of the North Island, and was put into receivership in October 2009.

Crafar Farms was involved in multiple prosecutions for pollution offences and incidents of poor animal welfare from 2007 to 2011.

About 16 of the farms were bought in 2012 by China's Shanghai Pengxin for a reported $200 million.

The trio were found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to defraud.

According to Hong Kong's Independent Commission against Corruption, Hao received a jail sentence of eight years and three months.

Her co-accused Wenjye Yee received five years in jail while the other co-accused, Keen Chen, received seven years and nine months' jail. Chen was also convicted of one count of dealing with property known or reasonably believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence.

All three were disqualified from being in the management of a company for 10 years.

In sentencing, the judge says Chen and Hao are "masterminds and prime movers" of the fraud and this has a "grave impact on the general public and the stock market".

- additional reporting Stuff