An Auckland man has been sentenced to home detention after using the identities of 15 taxpayers – including his deceased father – to fraudulently obtain more than $100,000 in Covid-19 relief money, authorities say.
Harry Singh submitted 23 dishonest applications to Inland Revenue between May 2020 and March 2022, filing claims in his own name and in the names of family members, friends, former clients and companies that had never traded.
He was sentenced to 10 months' home detention in the Auckland District Court on Friday.
The applications were alleged to have targeted several financial support schemes introduced to help businesses affected by pandemic restrictions.
Singh received $108,000 from the schemes. According to Inland Revenue, the total value of fraud across all 23 applications he made amounted to $224,400.
He was ordered to pay more than $50,000 in reparations.
The Ministry of Social Development continues its investigation into those who ripped off the scheme, which was pushed out to support businesses when Covid hit. (Source: 1News)
The programmes were administered by Inland Revenue and operated under a "high trust model" that relied on the declarations made by applicants, a spokesperson said.
Money diverted for living expenses, vehicle loan
The $108,000 in money he received was used to pay for living expenses and a personal loan for a family vehicle, according to Inland Revenue.
In May 2020, Singh applied for a cashflow loan on behalf of National Security Limited, a company he had formerly run with his ex-wife. The money was deposited into a joint account before being transferred to his personal account to pay off a personal loan.
He also submitted an application in his ex-wife's name, falsely claiming he was authorised to do so. In another case, Singh applied for two loans on behalf of a company owned by a friend who had been overseas at the time.
The company listed Singh's parents as shareholders.
The funds were transferred from the friend's bank account into Singh's own and spent on personal expenses, according to Inland Revenue.
As part of Small Business Cashflow Loan applications, recipients were required to declare they had the legal right to apply on behalf of the borrower, and that the money would be used for core operating costs such as rent, utilities, or supplier payments.
Of the 23 applications, 16 were for Small Business Cashflow Loans, six were for Resurgence Support Payments, and one was for a top-up loan.
The Small Business Cashflow Loan scheme was introduced in April 2020, the Resurgence Support Payment in February 2021, and the top-up scheme in March 2022.
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