More than 20 people have been charged after a network of six charities and incorporated societies were alleged to have dishonestly obtained $3.2 million in gambling grant funds.
Twenty-three people appeared in the Auckland District Court today on more than 500 charges under the Crimes Act, including alleged offending related to money laundering, receiving, and using forged documents.
Department of Internal Affairs gambling director Vicki Scott said its "largest ever prosecution" followed a "mammoth and complex investigation".
The Gambling Act requires class 4 pokie machine operators to give a minimum of 40% of profits back to the community by making grants to community organisations and charities, Scott said.
However, in this case, Scott said a large portion of the grants were obtained under the guise of salaries for "what were essentially bogus employees".
"Indeed, a number of the charities appear to have been 'sham' not-for-profit organisations, set up for the sole purpose of obtaining funding."
Scott said a "further feature" of the alleged offending included some of the defendants running a pokie venue, with the grant funds being laundered through venue bank accounts to repay gaming machine profits back to class 4 operators in a "cynical abuse of the gambling system".
"We will continue to respond strongly to any attempts to undermine the important measures that ensure gambling profits go back into the community, not into individuals’ back pockets," Scott said.
All of the defendants have been granted interim name suppression until their next court date on April 9, 2026.
Money laundering and receiving offences have a maximum penalty of seven years' imprisonment, while using a forged document has a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
SHARE ME