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Summarised by Centrist
Auckland businessman Hun Min Im has pleaded guilty to defrauding the COVID wage subsidy and tax systems of more than $1.8 million – money intended to keep real businesses afloat during the pandemic.
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) described the case as “deliberate and wide-reaching,” involving forged documents, shell companies, and stolen identities.
Im, 37, created fake companies and filed 42 wage subsidy applications -13 of which were approved while also seeking GST refunds and additional subsidies from Inland Revenue.
Court documents reveal he used personal data from tenants and fake job applicants to construct a false employment network. The money was used to fund a luxury lifestyle, including an apartment and vehicle, while Im also received the Jobseeker Benefit, housing support, and $50,000 in family tax credits.
Despite the scale of the fraud, the Ministry of Social Development approved over $600,000 in wage subsidy payments before detecting issues. The case is the first of its kind prosecuted by the SFO, and the summary of facts stretched to 83 pages. Im faces sentencing in August.
The case illustrates vulnerabilities in how the wage subsidy scheme was designed and monitored. Companies were not required to prove active operations or verify staff identities beyond paperwork – a system that Im exploited repeatedly. Prosecutors said imprisonment was the “only realistic outcome.”
The wage subsidy scheme paid out over $18 billion during the pandemic.
Read more over at The NZ Herald
Image: Stuart Mackay, NIWA
