An Auckland accountant has been sent to prison for two years and nine months for tax fraud dating back to the turn of the century. Alice Jardinero Monzon, 67, was sentenced in the Manukau District Court yesterday and as well as prison time, was ordered to pay $10,000 in reparation. Monzon pleaded guilty to 9 representative charges under the Crimes Act primarily related to the returns she provided for clients… Read more
A Hamilton-based chartered accountant, who fabricated GST and income tax returns to fund a gambling habit and go on holidays, has been sent to prison for three years. Megan Nyree Findlay was sentenced today in the Hamilton District Court for filing fraudulent GST, and income tax returns on behalf of a company. Findlay fraudulently obtained nearly $467,000 for herself and evaded $274,229.55 of tax by the family business whose tax… Read more
A co-owner of the Masala Restaurant chain has been jailed for hiding millions of dollars in cash sales and laundering large amounts of it. Rupinder Singh Chahil was sentenced today at the Auckland High Court to three years and two months in prison, plus a $50,000 fine, on nine money laundering charges and 34 tax evasion charges. His accountant, Vijay Kumar Gupta, was also sentenced today to 10 months home detention and… Read more
Tax crime happens when people cheat the tax system through deliberate and dishonest behaviour with the aim of obtaining financial benefit. While most people are honest and pay tax on all their income, those that intentionally avoid paying tax or claim money they aren’t entitled to, are robbing honest people of services they might have had. That’s why we help people do the right thing and take action when people… Read more
An Auckland man, who a judge says used Inland Revenue as a bank to prop up failing businesses, has been sent to prison for nearly five years. Peter Martin Coleman was sentenced yesterday in the Auckland District Court to 4 years and 9 months in prison on a raft of tax charges under the Crimes Act and the Tax Administration Act. His actions resulted in an actual loss to Inland… Read more
A Waikato baker has been sent to prison for nearly five years for persistent and premeditated multi-million-dollar tax evasion over six years. Mara Sorm was found guilty by a Hamilton jury on 52 charges of tax evasion relating to himself, his wife, and their company after failing to declare some $6,500,000.00 in cash sales. He was sentenced today in the Tauranga District court to 4 years , 9 months in… Read more
Two Hamilton brothers have been sent to prison for significant tax and charities fraud. In the Hamilton District Court this week, Judge Kevin Phillips sentenced 61-year-old truck driver Lindsay Scott to 3 years 6 months in prison. His older brother Roger, a 64-year-old lab technician, was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months imprisonment. The two men were the remaining defendants in a major Inland Revenue prosecution against the Scott… Read more
Five members of one family have been sentenced to prison and home detention or ordered to pay reparations after a $2.3 million tax evasion case brought by Inland Revenue. They’ve been ordered to pay more than $2.2 million in reparations by the High Court in Wellington. The five – Boonrouen Thongskul, Sirirat Kampeng, Anchalee Minwong, Chanaratt Thongskul and Anuchit Tongskul – plead guilty five weeks into a trial expected to last… Read more
A Manawatu woman has been jailed for keeping her employees PAYE and ignoring her own tax advice. For more than a decade, Nicola “Nicky” Dargie considered herself “qualified by experience” and presented debt management workshops in Manawatu advocating the need to manage taxes with IRD as part of proper financial control. In fact, she operated five companies that failed to pay more than $740,000 of her employees PAYE as required.… Read more
A South Auckland woman was sentenced to 11 months home detention and ordered to repay more than $60,000 to Inland Revenue after falsely claiming GST and income tax refunds. Lute Tonga Vailolo plead guilty to a representative charge of providing false information which led to the refund claims. She was sentenced in the Manukau District Court on 22 August. Vailolo is the daughter of one of seven brothers who run… Read more
A former commercial diver has been sentenced to 3 years in prison after falsely claiming more than a million dollars in GST refunds. Tony Edward Cree pleaded guilty to one representative charge of dishonestly and without claim of right using a document to obtain a pecuniary advantage. He was sentenced today in the Christchurch District Court. Inland Revenue spokesperson Tony Morris says Cree, via his company Civil and Marine Group… Read more
Inland Revenue plays a critical role in improving the economic and social wellbeing of New Zealanders. The IRD collects and distributes more than 80% of the Crown’s Revenue and collect and distribute social support payments. Paying tax helps pay for the public services we all rely on like education, health and roads. Sometimes people intentionally choose to participate in the hidden economy; don’t declare all their income; and try to… Read more
A Christchurch businessman who lost just over $895,000 gambling has been sentenced to three years imprisonment after pleading guilty to tax evasion charges. Chung Tuyen La traded as a chicken and fish wholesaler under the name Wycola Chicken. He admitted knowingly providing false information to the Commissioner of Inland Revenue with intent to evade the assessment or payment of $900,000 in tax. He was sentenced today in the Christchurch District… Read more
Inland Revenue collects more than $70 billion in revenue each year – money which goes towards our hospitals, schools and society in general. When taxpayers evade tax and don’t file returns, neglect to pay workers KiwiSaver contributions or do cash jobs they’re stealing from all Kiwis. We rely on trust and honesty of taxpayers but when people aren’t upfront and try to cheat the system, Inland Revenue regularly prosecutes taxpayers… Read more
Papakura accountant Glenn William Archibald made a career out of filing income tax returns for his clients, but for nearly a decade didn’t file any income tax returns or pay any tax himself. Those years of evading taxes caught up with him today at Papakura District Court, where the 72-year-old was given 12 months’ home detention and 200 hours of community work. Archibald was sentenced on 11 charges, having evaded… Read more