An Auckland man has been jailed after trying to fraudulently claim more than $2 million through various Covid-19 support schemes, forging documents and signatures for fake companies.
Hun Min Im was sentenced to four years and 4.5 months in prison for his role in orchestrating the scheme.
Financial authorities described Im’s offending as a “large-scale” targeting of the Covid-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme, the Small Business Cashflow Scheme, Covid-19 Support Payments, and Resurgence Support Payments. He was convicted after an investigation led by the Serious Fraud Office, with support from Inland Revenue, police, and the Companies Office.
Over the course of his offending, Im submitted 42 Wage Subsidy Scheme applications on behalf of eight companies and four sole traders.
None of the businesses were genuine trading entities, and none employed any staff.
Im forged signatures and documents to incorporate companies, filed fake GST returns, and applied for an additional $172,800 in Covid-19 subsidies from Inland Revenue that he was not entitled to.
Serious Fraud Office director Karen Chang said an investigation revealed Im had stolen tenants’ and jobseekers’ personal information “to appear more legitimate”.
Through his offending, Im attempted to claim $2.3 million and managed to obtain $624,000 in taxpayer funds. The money was used to fund his lifestyle, including a luxury car and an apartment – both were seized by police.
“This was deliberate abuse of public money that was intended to support people and businesses during a time of significant stress and uncertainty,” Chang said.
“Mr Im created a complex web of fake companies and forged documents to exploit support schemes designed to help struggling businesses and families.”
In May, Im pleaded guilty to 54 charges. Following a trial at the Auckland District Court, he was found guilty of an additional 34 charges, including obtaining by deception and using forged documents.
Ministry of Social Development general manager George Van Ooyen said Im’s acts “took advantage of a high trust system designed to financially support New Zealand businesses and keep people in their jobs”.
“The scale of his actions shows a disregard for the wider community and people who were feeling genuine hardship at that time.”
It wasn’t the first time Im had offended in a similar fashion.
Inland Revenue spokesperson Bernadette Newman said that, before the pandemic, Im had used several of his companies to commit GST fraud against the tax agency.
“When Covid arrived, he saw this as an opportunity to take advantage of the High Trust model the government introduced to get money out quickly to businesses in genuine need.
“The targeted offending against the various IR administered support payments were fundamentally similar to the wage subsidy offending in that they both involved the use of stolen identities as fake employees. Im continued with his tax fraud alongside this.”
