A Christchurch man narrowly escaped jail time by the "slimmest of margins" after trying to claim more than $52,000 in refunds using forged documents.
The Inland Revenue IRD say Jackson Leon Maxwell Tauhinu registered for GST in September last year, describing his business as a “clothing retailer”.
At the time, Tauhinu was on the benefit and tried to claim more than $52,000 in refunds.
He used "forged documents" to try to back up his claims but was only able to get $702.49 of what he wanted.
Inland Revenue described his offending as "inherently pre-meditated".
"Each time Tauhinu filed a GST return or provided 'supporting documents' to Inland Revenue, he knew they were forged," the department said.
He was slapped with three charges of dishonestly using a document to obtain a pecuniary advantage and two charges of knowingly using a forged document to obtain a pecuniary advantage — which he pleaded guilty to.
Tauhinu's defence team claimed he was "just a puppet" of a gang member and hadn't actually submitted the false returns and forged documents.
When asked why he pleaded guilty, the man said he didn't want to share the identity of the gang member.
At his sentencing at the Christchurch District Court, Judge Tony Couch said Tauhinu escaped prison "by the slimmest of margins".
He called the offending a "gross breach of trust", saying the tax system relies heavily on people's honesty.
Tauhinu was sentenced to eight months of home detention and was ordered to repay the $702.49 he received.
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