A man who is facing charges for allegedly submitting false Covid-19 wage subsidy applications has been hit with 53 further fraud-related charges.
The Auckland man, Hun Min Im, has pleaded not guilty to all 95 charges he faces. He appeared in Auckland District Court today.
The total amount he is alleged to have fraudulently claimed is now over $2.3 million, of which he allegedly received $624,000.
In August 2022, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) filed charges against Im for allegedly attempting to claim $1.88 million under the wage subsidy scheme.
He is alleged to have successfully received just over $600,000 from the scheme.
In a statement, the SFO said Im has now been hit with further charges relating to false GST returns and his alleged attempts to fraudulently claim from the Small Business Cashflow Scheme, Covid-19 Support Payments and Resurgence Support Payments.
Im also faces forgery charges related to documents submitted to Companies Office.
His next court appearance is scheduled for May 19, 2023.
SFO director Karen Chang said Police, Inland Revenue, and the Ministry of Social Development were "working together to investigate potential abuse of public funds".
“This case was originally referred to the SFO by the Ministry of Social Development following its own initial investigations. Further work alerted us to possible fraudulent activity against other Government organisations, and we are grateful to Inland Revenue, Police and the Companies Office for their cooperation and support in our investigation.
"This was a great example of agencies working together to investigate potential abuse of public funds."
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