Covid and tax fraudster used false identities to try to steal $220,000
Caitlin Briar Ashby was charged with using forged documents after Inland Revenue accused her of scamming two Covid-19 support schemes.
Inland Revuenue said Ashby set up three bank
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1News
19 hours ago
- 1News
Auckland woman sentenced on numerous tax fraud charges
An Auckland woman has been jailed for two years on numerous tax fraud charges. Caitlin Briar Ashby appeared in the Manukau District Court on August 14, where she faced 18 charges of using documents with intent to obtain a pecuniary advantage from income tax returns, GST returns and applications to two Covid-19 support schemes. She had previously admitted the charges. Ashby had set up three bank accounts using false identities and filed 64 false income tax returns for 14 different taxpayers. She also made two false GST returns, two false Small Business Cashflow scheme loan (SBCS) applications - of which one was paid out while the other was declined - and one false Resurgence Support Payment (RSP) application. ADVERTISEMENT Between May and August of 2019, Ashby had the bank account details changed for 19 taxpayers, so income tax refunds for those people would be paid into accounts she controlled. The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including Zelensky's suit becomes hot topic at peace summit, a cold blast on the way, and Auckland FC lures new signing back home. (Source: 1News) Between July and August 2019, she applied for 61 tax refunds for 14 people for whom she had updated details. The money was paid into bank accounts she had control of. Ashby also tried to get two GST returns paid into her accounts, but it was not. Nearly $37,000 was deposited into bank accounts under Ashby's control from the Covid-19 relief schemes. Inland Revenue said Ashby attempted to obtain a total of $222,822.44 from the department and successfully received $36,629.64. She was sentenced to two years in prison for her fraudulent behaviour. She was given leave to apply for home detention if she could find a suitable address to live. ADVERTISEMENT No reparation was ordered, and six months' special and standard release conditions were included in her sentence.
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
'High trust' Covid approach led to fraud cases, tax expert says
Nearly $37,000 was paid into bank accounts under an Auckland woman's control from the Covid schemes. File photo. Photo: 123RF A run of fraud cases involving money taken from Covid-19 support cases reflects the "high trust" nature of the schemes, one tax expert says. Inland Revenue said on Tuesday that an Auckland woman had been sentenced to two years' prison on tax fraud charges. Caitlin Briar Ashby faced 18 charges, some of them representative, of using documents with intent to obtain a pecuniary advantage from income tax returns, GST returns and applications to two Covid-19 support schemes. She was given leave to apply for home detention if a suitable address where she could live was found. Ashby set up three bank accounts using false identities and filed 64 false income tax returns for 14 different taxpayers. She made two false GST returns, two false Small Business Cashflow scheme loan (SBCS) applications, one of which was paid out to Ashby and the other of which was declined, and one false Resurgence Support Payment (RSP) application. The SBCS and RSP schemes were set up to help businesses through Covid-19. Nearly $37,000 was paid into bank accounts under her control from the Covid schemes. Inland Revenue and the Ministry of Social Development have been taking action against others who abused the schemes. Earlier this month, IR said it had prosecuted 14 people so far. It has been given more funding for audit and debt collection work. MSD said its action had led to 46 people being sentenced. Another 49 people were still before the courts. Earlier this month, an accountant was sentenced nearly six years jail for a $1.7 million Covid-19 fraud. Robyn Walker, a tax partner at Deloitte said this was the result of the schemes being designed as "high trust". "The priority at the time was to get money out to businesses which needed it quickly, which to some extent meant that the level of scrutiny on applications was not as high as they might ordinarily be. The priority was to get the support to those who were entitled rather than holding everything up with a slow approval process. "While many of the public cases we are seeing are examples of clear fraud, there were also some semi-subjective criteria, meaning that some issues are arising where there are differing views about whether the entitlement criteria were met - for example different views on whether turnover drop criteria were met based on choices around comparator periods." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
a day ago
- NZ Herald
Covid and tax fraudster used false identities to try to steal $220,000
A tax fraudster filed more than 60 false income tax returns for multiple taxpayers in a bid to steal more than $200,000. Caitlin Briar Ashby was charged with using forged documents after Inland Revenue accused her of scamming two Covid-19 support schemes. Inland Revuenue said Ashby set up three bank
