Association of Certified Fraud Examiners New Zealand News

NZ's largest GST fraud leads to 8.5 yrs prison and seizure of $16m in assets

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 22:13:54 GMT

The Gisborne farmer behind New Zealand's largest-ever GST fraud has been ordered to hand over up to $16 million in real estate and other assets to the Crown.
Read the news story here.

Imprisonment for involvement in bribery and corruption scheme.

Sun, 05 Jan 2025 20:35:51 GMT

Former roading contract manager has been imprisoned for a $1.5 million corruption scheme.

Plumbers property being sold to repay proceeds of crime

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 01:55:36 GMT

A plumber that over-charged Kāinga Ora is selling his house to repay proceeds of crime and large scale tax evasion.

Insurance Fraud could cost a man his house

Fri, 16 Feb 2024 03:24:57 GMT

A man who made a fraudulent car insurance claim has had all his insurance cancelled and is now uninsured. He now faces the possibility of losing his house.

Forged Fire Safety Certificates lead to Public Interest prosecution

Fri, 16 Feb 2024 03:13:30 GMT

A man was sentenced to nine months home detention for forging the signature on fire safety certificates covering important safety systems, including one for a school.

Fraud Awareness Week, November 12 - 18, 2023

Sun, 29 Oct 2023 22:03:34 GMT

Fraud Week is the perfect time to start discussions amongst peers, co-workers, executives and stakeholders in your community about how important fraud prevention is to society as a whole.

Check out the Fraud Week website for ideas of what you can do, events and resources available to help promote the fraud prevention message.

False donation tax credit scheme prosecuted by IRD

Sun, 12 Mar 2023 20:06:36 GMT

Five leaders of a charitable organisation have been prosecuted for their role in using applications for donation tax credits with intent to obtain a pecuniary advantage.
See the story here: Church leaders sentenced on tax fraud charges

Fraud Awareness Week, November 13 - 19, 2022

Tue, 08 Nov 2022 19:57:12 GMT

Fraud Week is the perfect time to start discussions amongst peers, co-workers, executives and stakeholders in your community about how important fraud prevention is to society as a whole.

Check out the Fraud Week website for ideas of what you can do, events and resources available to help promote the fraud prevention message.

Employee due diligence critical in recruitment at all levels.

Tue, 08 Nov 2022 19:26:52 GMT

Chief executive’s ‘trail of horror’ includes fraud, debts and drink-driving.

A Chief Executive had committed fraud, been charged with drink-driving, faced a restraining order, and owed millions of dollars, yet he got a top job at one of Christchurch’s most important companies.

Read about it here

Multiple charges of wage subsidy fraud laid in court

Kim Wheeler — Sun, 08 May 2022 21:00:00 GMT

Seven criminal charges involving hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer funds have been laid in court by the Ministry of Social Development, over alleged abuse of the wage subsidy scheme.

Charges relating to the seven cases have now been filed in the Auckland, Waitākere, Christchurch and Hāwera district courts and range from receiving, dishonestly taking or using a document and forgery.

One person pleaded guilty in February and repaid over $18,000. They are due to be sentenced later this year.

SFO investigate investment company after liquidator lays complaint

Kim Wheeler — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 23:00:00 GMT

The Serious Fraud Office is investigating an options and investment company which went into liquidation in June last year.

Options Trading and Investments NZ was put into liquidation on June 20 with liquidator Damien Grant from Waterstone Insolvency indicating creditors faced substantial losses.

The company’s sole director is Tiavare Richard Curtis Joseph, but the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said Joseph was also known by the name Ritchie Wineera.

The SO has called for anyone who had had dealings with Joseph, or the company, who had information that could be relevant to the investigation to contact it.

Pandora Papers: Massive leak exposes offshore assets of world leaders, billionaires and other powerful figures

Kim Wheeler — Sun, 03 Oct 2021 18:00:00 GMT

A massive leak of millions of documents has exposed the secret offshore financial arrangements of the world's rich and powerful, including billionaires, political leaders, celebrities, sports stars, and public officials.

Launching today, The Pandora Papers is a major international investigation by dozens of media outlets including the New Zealand Herald that reveals how wealthy elites used complex offshore structures – including New Zealand-based trusts – to shelter assets and move money around the globe.

Among the prominent figures whose financial arrangements have been exposed are 35 country leaders including the King of Jordan, around 330 politicians and high-level public officials, and 133 billionaires.

Believed to be the biggest data leak in history, the Pandora Papers will intensify international debate about the enormous scale of offshore finance at a time of rising concern about economic inequality.

Read the full article here.

'If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is': Online scams on rise, police say

Kim Wheeler — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 06:00:00 GMT

Wellington police are seeing a surge in fraudulent online transactions as the return to Level 2 allows online trading of goods to resume.

In a statement, police said they were receiving multiple reports of buyers using false bank transfer statements and falsified digital documents to confirm payments have been made.

Police statistics were likely to tell only a part of the story as many people didn’t report the scamming out of embarrassment but police urged people to report any suspicious activity to give them the best chance of catching offenders.

Read the full article here.

Former Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority employees on trial in High Court

Kim Wheeler — Mon, 16 Aug 2021 09:00:00 GMT

The trial of two former Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority employees charged over an alleged fraud involving a government-funded waste-to-energy plant on the West Coast began today.

Gerard Anthony Gallagher, 62, and Simon Carl Nikoloff, 57, were both working for the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (Cera) in 2017 when they were the subject of an investigation by the State Services Commission (SSC) into alleged private property deals.

The SCC referred the pair to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) as a result and they were later charged.

Student loses $70K of borrowed money in scam targeting Mandarin speakers

Kim Wheeler — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 08:00:00 GMT

A university student has lost $70,000 borrowed from friends and family to overseas scammers targeting Mandarin speakers.

Just a semester into a business degree at the Auckland University of Technology (AUT), Sally Lin’s world was “turned upside-down” after being scammed by a group pretending to be police and prosecutors in China, accusing her of involvement in a “high-profile” international money laundering case.

Businesses' attitudes to cyber security shifting, but more work to be done

Kim Wheeler — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 20:00:00 GMT

While businesses' attitudes to cyber security are shifting, 3 in 5 small businesses believe they should be doing more to keep secure online, says CERT NZ.

According to research from the government cyber security agency CERT NZ, the majority of small businesses with an online presence understand the importance of protecting their website.

Over half (54%) of those surveyed said their organisation is concerned about cyber security, and 46% are trying to learn more about keeping their online business safe.

Despite this, some small businesses are not taking action to secure themselves.

Only 38% believe their business adequately invests in cyber security, and just 34% believe their business has put a lot of thought and planning into being cyber secure. Most concerning, under half (45%) have processes in place to prevent a cyber attack.

Read the full article here.

Euro Corporation fined $361,000 in last Commerce Commission steel mesh case

Kim Wheeler — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 20:00:00 GMT

Euro Corporation Limited (Euro) has been fined $361,000 for making false or misleading and unsubstantiated representations relating to its earthquake grade steel mesh products, known as SE615.

Auckland District Court Judge M-E Sharp sentenced Euro on 14 charges brought by the Commerce Commission under the Fair Trading Act. Euro pleaded guilty to making false or misleading and unsubstantiated representations for its SE615 steel mesh products which it marketed and sold as being earthquake grade steel mesh (known in the industry as 500E grade) between January 2012 and August 2015.

Read the full article here.

Christchurch fund manager pleads guilty

Kim Wheeler — Thu, 17 Jun 2021 20:00:00 GMT

Kelly Simon Tonkin (52) appeared in the Christchurch District Court today and pleaded guilty to charges of 'False accounting', 'False statements by promoter' and 'Forgery'.

The charges related to his management of the Penrich Global Macro Fund which was a Cayman Islands registered company set up in September 2004. The Fund invested in a range of financial instruments including fixed income securities and currency instruments. Significant losses were concealed by Mr Tonkin who continued to solicit investments in the Fund. It was placed into voluntary liquidation by its shareholders in April 2020.

Read the full article here.

CERT NZ: Kiwis lost $3 million in cyber security fraud in first quarter of 2021

Kim Wheeler — Wed, 02 Jun 2021 20:00:00 GMT

CERT NZ words to support businesses, organisations and individuals affected by cyber security fraud and it's revealed a 25 percent year-on-year increase in incidents to 1,431 from 1 January to 31 March.

Almost a quarter of those reports resulted in direct financial losses, with phishing and credential harvesting remaining the most reported incidents, followed by scams and fraud.

You can read the full Newshub article here.

The Serious Fraud Office filed criminal charges against six people in relation to a donation made to the Labour Party.

Kim Wheeler — Wed, 12 May 2021 22:00:00 GMT

The defendants are entitled to seek name suppression therefore the SFO will not be naming any defendants until any name suppression issues have been resolved.

See here for more information.

Tackling of money laundering 'adequate' but more can be done, watchdog finds

Kim Wheeler — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 07:30:00 GMT

With money laundering prosecutions on the rise and about $1.35billion laundered through businesses annually as a result of fraud, illegal drugs, tax evasion and other crimes, is New Zealand enforcement doing enough?

The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog, setting standards for more than 200 countries and jurisdictions to help authorities combat serious crime including drug smuggling, human trafficking and terrorism.

FATF reports identify what countries are doing right - and where they need to improve - in relation to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing frameworks.

The watchdog released its 2020 report in to New Zealand on Thursday, finding it had achieved notable results tackling money laundering, however there is room for improvement.

Read the full article here.

Gisborne farmer convicted of 'crude but effective' $17.4 million tax fraud

Kim Wheeler — Sat, 27 Mar 2021 06:51:00 GMT

A Gisborne farmer who submitted false invoices for more than $133 million over four years has been convicted in New Zealand’s largest tax fraud case.

John Richard Bracken, 54, ran the scam through his company Bracken Enterprises Ltd, which led to him receiving $17.4 million in GST refunds that he was not entitled to.

Read the full article here.

New Zealanders report almost $17 million in loss due to cyber security incidents

Kim Wheeler — Tue, 23 Mar 2021 23:00:00 GMT

CERT NZ’s latest report, released today, shows a 65% increase in reports of cyber security incidents over the past year, with an associated $16.9 million in direct financial losses.

Read the full article here.

Interpol alert for New Zealand banker wanted by Germany

Kim Wheeler — Sun, 21 Feb 2021 22:03:54 GMT

Interpol, on Tuesday 9 February 2021, issued a global alert for a New Zealand banker wanted by Germany in connection with a massive tax fraud scheme.

The agency based in Lyon, France, posted a 'red notice' on its website seeking information on the whereabouts of 53-year-old Paul Robert Mora, who is suspected of facilitating and concealing fraudulent transactions worth more than 113 million euros ($190 million).

Read the entire NZ Herald article here.

Cryptocurrency scam victim shares experience in bid to stop more people falling prey

Kim Wheeler — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 21:00:00 GMT

A Tauranga man thought he had turned $3000 into $31,000 in just weeks through cryptocurrency, but he now knows he’ll never see a cent of it.

Bruce Harding believes he has fallen foul of a pushy cryptocurrency scam that took him for thousands of dollars but could have cost him more had he not stopped.

CERT NZ, warns scams involving cryptocurrency or fake traders are becoming more and more common in New Zealand.

Harding is sharing his misadventure in the hopes others do not fall into the same trap. Read the full article here.

Victims of PTT, Steven Robertson and Rodney McCall to receive payout; McCall sentenced to home detention

Kim Wheeler — Tue, 22 Dec 2020 03:00:00 GMT

The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has welcomed two court decisions that will see victims of convicted fraudsters Steven Robertson and Rodney McCall receive a portion of their money back. Mr McCall has also been sentenced to 12 months’ home detention for his crimes.

See the full media release here

SFO charges iwi leader Roger Pikia

Kim Wheeler — Wed, 16 Dec 2020 03:00:00 GMT

The Serious Fraud Office has brought fraud charges against Roger Pikia, the chairman of Te Arawa River Iwi Trust (TARIT) and its investment company THL Limited (THL).

Mr Pikia (52) did not enter a plea when he appeared in the Auckland District Court today. He is charged with ‘Obtaining by deception’, ‘Corrupt acceptance of gift by an agent’, ‘Receiving a secret reward for procuring a contract’, ‘Perverting the course of justice’ and ‘Conspiracy to commit an offence’.

See full SFO Media Release here