A third and final subcontractor has been sentenced after pleading guilty for his involvement in a scheme involving $1 million in gifts in exchange for maintenance contracts in South Auckland.
Frederick Pou, of Coastal Roading Contractors, was sentenced in the Auckland District Court on Tuesday to 12 months' home detention. Pou pleaded guilty in May 2024 to corruptly giving gifts totalling approximately $582,000 to former Broadspectrum roading contract manager Jason Koroheke.
Koroheke was the architect of several schemes where he accepted gifts in exchange for awarding work and submitted false invoices to obtain significant benefits for himself, the Serious Fraud Office said.
The subcontractors submitted invoices to Broadspectrum, both real and false, which was authorised by Koroheke. Once Broadspectrum paid the subcontractors, they used this money to provide gifts to Koroheke in the form of cash, goods or services worth more than $1 million.
SFO director Karen Chang said Pou "helped to enable Mr Koroheke's offending".
"The case highlights the various roles involved in a corruption case, from the 'corrupter' who masterminds the criminal scheme, to the 'enablers' who facilitate the offending," she said.
"The case also highlights the potential consequence of placing too much trust in a senior employee without sufficient internal controls. These are critical counter fraud prevention measures that can reduce the possibility of organisations becoming a victim of fraud and corruption."
Koroheke was jailed for four years and five months last December after pleading guilty to the scheme.
Three others – subcontractors Richard Motilal and Brian Ravening, and former Broadspectrum maintenance manager Aurelian Mihai Hossu – were also charged in relation to the schemes.
Ravening was sentenced to 12 months' home detention in June 2024 and made a $300,000 reparation payment after pleading guilty to deception charges involving $631,000 and corruptly giving gifts worth approximately $615,000.
Motilal received nine months' home detention and was ordered to pay $25,000 in reparation, while Hossu was sentenced to 11 months' home detention and made a $90,000 reparation payment in June 2022.
Pou was the fifth and final defendant to be sentenced after successfully being prosecuted by the SFO.
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