A series of fraud cases involving Covid-19 financial support reflects the "high trust" design of the schemes, RNZ has reported.
On Tuesday, Inland Revenue confirmed that Auckland woman Caitlin Briar Ashby was sentenced to two years in prison on 18 fraud charges, including filing false income tax and GST returns and making fraudulent applications to the government’s Covid-19 support schemes.
Nearly $37,000 was paid into accounts she controlled through fake identities and false applications. She has been granted leave to apply for home detention if a suitable address is found, reports RNZ.
The Small Business Cashflow Scheme and the Resurgence Support Payment were introduced to provide urgent relief during the pandemic. But Inland Revenue and the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) have since uncovered widespread abuse.
As reported by RNZ, Inland Revenue has so far prosecuted 14 people, while MSD said 46 offenders have been sentenced, with 49 more cases before the courts. Earlier this month, an accountant received almost six years in prison for a $1.7 million COVID-19 fraud.
Deloitte tax partner Robyn Walker said the frauds reflected the government’s choice to prioritise speed over scrutiny.
“The priority at the time was to get money out to businesses quickly. While many of the cases we are seeing are clear fraud, some stem from differing interpretations of eligibility criteria,” she said.
Inland Revenue has received additional funding to expand audits and strengthen debt recovery in response to the cases.