Latest news with #AmandeepSharma
Independent Singapore
20-05-2025
- Independent Singapore
Couple who defrauded S$1.5 million in New Zealand flew away in Singapore Airlines business class to evade justice
SINGAPORE: After it was discovered that a husband and wife had defrauded Oranga Tamariki, New Zealand's Ministry for Children, of more than NZ$2 million (S$1.5 million), they attempted to evade justice by fleeing New Zealand on a business class flight operated by Singapore Airlines. Neha and Amandeep Sharma, of Indian origin, took a one-way flight to Chennai with 80 kilos of luggage. With the help of Indian authorities, the couple was apprehended and returned to Christchurch. Since then, Neha Sharma, who pleaded guilty to deception, forgery, and money laundering, among other charges, earlier this month, has been sentenced to three years in jail. Her husband, similarly, entered a guilty plea to deception and money laundering and will be sentenced in June. Neha Sharma worked as a property and facilities manager at Oranga Tamariki, while Amandeep Sharma was a director for Divine Connection, a construction company. Importantly, the two kept their marriage a secret, and Divine Connection was added to the ministry's list of contractors. What was a serious conflict of interest was unknown to officials at Oranga Tamariki. Neha Sharma approved contracts for her husband's company and approved invoices for payment to Divine Connection. She also worked for the company during office hours. By March 2023, New Zealand's Serious Fraud Office raided their property, and the investigation that followed showed that Neha and Amandeep Sharma had obtained more than NZ$2 million from the ministry. The investigation also showed that Neha Sharma had forged some documents she submitted when she first applied to work at Oranga Tamariki in 2021. When she was put in charge of managing all the property aspects relating to properties in a specific region, she added her husband's company as a contractor, working behind the scenes to manipulate the system to bypass the needed checks for Divine Connection. According to a report in the New Zealand Herald, between Jul 22, 2021, and Oct 28, 2022, Oranga Tamariki paid the company 103 times for 326 invoices. Neha Sharma resigned in November 2022 but managed to get another job at the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) by Dec 12, again using falsified references. See also HK activists, Beijing supporters demonstrate in London When their three properties were raided the following March, the couple sprang into action, buying one-way tickets to Chennai and fleeing quickly. The ministry has welcomed the couple's convictions. 'Corruption of this kind is utterly unacceptable. Oranga Tamariki takes any case of fraud extremely seriously, as evidenced by its actions when concerns about this staff member's activities were raised,' said Oranga Tamariki chief executive Andrew Bridgman. /TISG Read also: 3 men charged with fraud in alleged connection to movement of Nvidia chips
Time of India
20-05-2025
- Time of India
Indian-origin couple defrauds $2 million in New Zealand through secret marriage, flees to Chennai, wanted to retire at 35
Neha Sharma, Amandeep Sharma convicted of fraud in New Zealand. (Photo: Social media) Neha Sharma and her husband Amandeep Sharma have pleaded guilty to multiple fraud charges in New Zealand after they conned a New Zealand government agency out of more than $2 million. When their secret arrangement came in the public, they booked one-way tickets on Singapore Airlines to Chennai, in business class, the New Zealand Herald reported. How did the Indian-origin couple defraud the government agency? Neha Sharma was a manager at Orange Tamariki, the ministry of children, in New Zealand. Her colleagues did not know that she was married to Amandeep Sharma, the director of Divine Connection which was silently added to the ministry's list of contractors -- in a grave conflict of interest. 'We have a robust plan in place ... and I will support you for becoming an entrepreneur. Celebrate retiring below 35! Not many get this opportunity," Neha messaged her husband when concerns were raised in the office about this particular contractor -- as the paperwork had some gaps. The duo continued to dupe the agency for two years with Neha using her access to pass on favors to her husband's company. The police recovered their chats they exchanged whenever there was any suspicion in the agency. In March 2023, the Serious Fraud Office raided the couple's property and it was found out that they obtained more than $2 million from Oranga Tamariki. At that time, they both resigned from their respective positions. Within two weeks after the raid on their properties, the couple booked two one-way tickets to Chennai. They boarded the flight with 80 kg of luggage between them. Before leaving, they tried to liquidate their properties and cars and transferred under $800,000 in cash from their bank accounts in New Zealand to accounts held in India. Neha shows no remorse, blames 'baby brain' Neha Sharma was jailed in the High Court at Christchurch earlier this month for three years. She blamed the scam on baby brain -- a state of impaired memory supposedly experience during pregnancy or after giving birth. There was no evidence of remorse or offer of reparation in her, the report said. The couple's older child had been taken back to India with Amandeep's sister. Amandeep pleaded guilty last week and is awaiting sentence which will take place in June.
Time of India
20-05-2025
- Time of India
Indian couple in New Zealand admit $2 million fraud on Ministry for Children
Live Events A former public sector employee and her husband have admitted to fraudulently obtaining over $2 million from Oranga Tamariki New Zealand 's Ministry for Children, as per a report by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), New Sharma, who served as the Property and Facilities Manager at Oranga Tamariki, was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of obtaining by deception, money laundering , and using a forged document. Her husband, Amandeep Sharma, also admitted to obtaining by deception and money laundering; his sentencing is scheduled for 19 couple orchestrated the fraud by channelling government contracts to Amandeep Sharma's company, Divine Connection Ltd, without disclosing their relationship. Neha Sharma used forged references to secure her position at Oranga Tamariki and later at Waka Kotahi, another government agency. Once in her role, she facilitated payments totaling over $2 million to Divine Connection Ltd, a company not on the agency's approved supplier Sharmas also transferred nearly $800,000 overseas after their activities came under scrutiny and left New Zealand. The Police Asset Recovery Unit, in collaboration with Indian authorities, has located and restrained these funds, with proceedings underway to return them to New Zealand.(Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates)SFO Director Karen Chang stated, "These convictions mark an important milestone in the SFO's prosecution of this case, which reinforces the serious consequences of abusing a position of trust for personal gain, especially when public funds are involved."
NDTV
20-05-2025
- NDTV
Indian-Origin Couple Swindled Crores In New Zealand, Escape To Chennai Did Not Help
An Indian-origin couple has been convicted of defrauding New Zealand's child welfare agency, Oranga Tamariki, of more than NZ$2 million (over Rs 10 crore). Neha Sharma has been sentenced to three years in jail after pleading guilty to multiple fraud-related charges, including obtaining money by deception, money laundering, and using forged documents. Her husband, Amandeep Sharma, has also pleaded guilty to deception and laundering charges, The NZ Herald reported. Before their arrest, the couple flew to Chennai in a business class flight, shortly after authorities began closing in on their fraudulent scheme. Their escape was short-lived. They were soon brought back under investigation. At the time, the couple owned three properties, three cars, and had nearly $800,000 (over Rs 4 crore) in cash across their joint bank accounts. Neha Sharma worked as a property and facilities manager at Oranga Tamariki, while Amandeep Sharma ran a construction company named Divine Connection. Their fraudulent scheme started gaining traction roughly eight months after Divine Connection was onboarded as a contractor. No one at the agency knew the two were married. This allowed Neha Sharma to use her internal access to route over 200 maintenance jobs and 326 inflated invoices to Divine Connection between July 2021 and October 2022, directly benefiting her husband's company. Some of the money was even paid for personal items, like a new television for their home. Neha Sharma joined the agency in 2021 by submitting fake job references. Despite the agency's strict rules about conflicts of interest, she never disclosed her ties to Divine Connection or its director, her husband. In one text message between the two, Neha Sharma told Amandeep Sharma, "You just say you are working for me. He should not know you are my be a huge issue for me." She even brought in a friend to help push more work to Divine Connection through the agency. During office hours, she wasn't just authorising payments, but was also helping run the company. The scam began to crumble in October 2022 when a colleague questioned the repeated job assignments going to the same contractor. On November 2, the day Neha Sharma was due for a meeting to explain the irregularities, she abruptly resigned by email. She claimed she was being unfairly targeted and refused to attend the meeting. Within 20 minutes of her resignation, Amandeep Sharma was removed as Divine Connection's director and the company's address was changed, seen as an apparent attempt to cover their tracks. The Serious Fraud Office raided their property on March 30, 2023. During the raids, Neha Sharma claimed Divine Connection had been approved before she joined Oranga Tamariki and that she had disclosed the conflict. These claims were later proven false by the evidence. Oranga Tamariki has since tightened its internal controls and oversight to prevent such misconduct in the future. CEO Andrew Bridgman said, "Corruption of this kind is utterly unacceptable. Oranga Tamariki takes any case of fraud extremely seriously, as shown by its actions once concerns were raised."
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The Independent
20-05-2025
- The Independent
Couple tried in New Zealand after escaping on business class flight after $2m fraud
An Indian-origin couple defrauded New Zealand 's Ministry of Children for $2m and siphoned money into overseas bank accounts before flying back to their hometown on a one-way business class ticket. Neha Sharma and her husband Amandeep Sharma have pleaded guilty to charges related to a fraud scheme targeting Oranga Tamariki, New Zealand's Ministry for Children, between 2021 and 2022. Sharma joined Oranga Tamariki as a Property and Facilities Manager in February 2021 by using forged references. She was sentenced to three years in prison this month for her role in the fraud, which involved using forged references to secure her job and funnelling NZ$2.1m (£929,848 ) to her husband's company, Divine Connection Ltd, without disclosing their marriage or conflict of interest. Amandeep Sharma also admitted guilt and his sentencing is scheduled for 19 June. He incorporated his construction company Divine Connection Ltd in February 2018 and registered it to the couple's address in Christchurch. The New Zealand Herald stated that the media were unable to report on her pleas until Friday when her husband also pleaded guilty. The Serious Fraud Office, which led the investigation into the long-running case, said the 'convictions mark an important milestone' in he case. The case 'reinforces the serious consequences of abusing a position of trust for personal gain, especially when public funds are involved'. 'Offending of this kind erodes public confidence and harms the integrity of New Zealand's public institutions and our reputation as a safe place to invest. It's critical we take action to disrupt and deter such behaviour,' the office said in a statement. The charges against the Sharmas were filed in June 2023 by the SFO. This case also highlights the requirement for rigorous vetting of public servants, especially as they move between agencies. Once employed at the ministry of children, Neha Sharma set up her husband's Divine Connection Ltd to Oranga Tamariki's list of contractors without disclosing her relationship with Amandeep Sharma, violating conflict-of-interest protocols. Between July 2021 and October 2022, Neha Sharma approved 326 invoices, resulting in 103 payments totalling over NZ$2.1m to Divine Connection Ltd for work on various properties, including youth justice facilities like Te Puna Wai and Te Oranga. The company was not an approved supplier and the work was preferentially assigned over other contractors. Red flags were raised in late 2022 when Oranga Tamariki's internal audits flagged irregularities in Divine Connection's invoices and job assignments, and later raised suspicions after it was found that the company was registered to Neha Sharma's home address. The investigations into the case were transferred to the SFO, which raided the couple's Christchurch property in March 2023, uncovering three properties, three vehicles, and NZ$800,000 in liquid assets. Soon after, the two booked one-way tickets flying business class on Singapore Airlines to Chennai, India. The trip appeared strange as the two had a busy schedule, including a pregnancy, and the Sharmas had signed up for a parenting education course. Amandeep Sharma had booked two trips to the capital, Auckland, while Neha bought two tickets for a baby expo. They boarded the flight on 14 April 2023 after attempting to liquidate their properties and cars and transferred just under NZ $800,000 in cash from their bank accounts to accounts held in India. However, the New Zealand Police, in collaboration with Indian authorities, restrained the transferred funds in India. The High Court issued a restraining order on the couple's New Zealand properties under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009. At her first appearance in June 2023, her lawyer said she had given birth and had planned to return to New Zealand from India when she was able to with her child. She also pleaded guilty to forging documents to secure the job at the ministry. She forged references that were supposed to be from two people from her previous employer. She remains in a prison with her baby in the mothers and babies unit.
