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India Today
20-05-2025
- India Today
After Rs 10-crore scam, New Zealand couple flew business class to India
An Indian-origin couple living in Christchurch, New Zealand, was convicted in a fraud case that caused losses exceeding NZ$2 million (10 crore) to Oranga Tamariki, the country's child welfare agency. An investigation in the case has been on since October 2022, but details emerged recently after a guilty plea by one of the accused. After committing the fraud, the couple also took a business-class flight to India in May 16, Amandeep Sharma, director of Divine Connection Ltd, pleaded guilty and is due to be sentenced in June. His wife, Neha Sharma, 36, a former property and facilities manager at Oranga Tamariki, the Ministry of Children of New Zealand, was sentenced earlier in May to three years in prison after pleading guilty to charges, including obtaining by deception, money laundering, and using forged used her position within the agency to funnel more than 200 inflated maintenance jobs and 326 falsified invoices to Divine Connection, the company secretly run by her husband. Colleagues were unaware of their relationship, enabling the fraud to go undetected for over a year — from July 2021 to October had secured her job at the agency using fake references and never declared her conflict of interest. Despite strict agency policies, she concealed her marriage and her husband's involvement with the contracted scheme began to collapse in October 2022 when a co-worker flagged repeated job allocations to the same contractor. A meeting was scheduled for November 2 to address the irregularities, but Neha resigned by email just before it, claiming she was being unfairly targeted. Within 20 minutes of her resignation, Amandeep was removed as the director of Divine Connection, and the company's registered address was changed in an attempt to hide the December 2022, Amandeep was also removed as a shareholder, replaced by a man named Prince Bajaj. However, during a later investigation, Bajaj told authorities he had no knowledge of being listed and had not consented to the change—confirming the move was March 30, 2023, the Serious Fraud Office raided the couple's property. By then, they had already attempted to shift large sums offshore, booked one-way business class tickets to Chennai, and begun liquidating assets. They owned three properties, three vehicles, and liquid assets amounting to around NZ$800,000 (4 crore), much of which had already been transferred to being under suspicion, Neha managed to briefly secure another government job at the New Zealand Transport Agency using the same fake references she had previously used to join Oranga is currently incarcerated with her baby in a special unit, while the couple's older child was sent to India with Amandeep's sister. Through her lawyer, Neha blamed her actions on "baby brain," though prosecutors said there was no remorse or offer of repayment.
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."
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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.
Hindustan Times
19-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
Indian-origin couple escapes on business class flight after $2 million fraud
A Christchurch-based Indian-origin couple has been convicted in a long-running fraud case involving New Zealand's Oranga Tamariki, with the woman exploiting her position as a property manager to divert government funds to her husband's company. The elaborate scheme resulted in losses of over NZ$2 million (approximately ₹10.1 crore) to the child welfare agency, reported the New Zealand Herald. Neha Sharma, 36, who served as the property and facilities manager at Oranga Tamariki, has been sentenced to three years in prison after admitting to multiple charges, including obtaining by deception, money laundering, and using forged documents. Her husband, Amandeep Sharma, the director of Divine Connection Ltd, has also pleaded guilty and is due to be sentenced in June. The duo manipulated internal systems to funnel government contracts to Amandeep's firm, with Neha allocating and approving work despite the company not being on the agency's approved list. The conflict of interest was concealed throughout the operation, with Neha misleading colleagues about her relationship with Amandeep and instructing him to appear independent. According to the outlet, Neha had used fake references to secure her role at Oranga Tamariki in 2021, which involved managing property maintenance projects across Canterbury. Once in position, she added Divine Connection to the contractor system and oversaw jobs worth NZ$2.1 million (over ₹10.6 crore) being awarded to the company over just 15 months. Many of these invoices were inflated, and some covered personal expenses, including a television purchased for her home. To avoid suspicion, Neha told colleagues her husband was 'just another contractor' and even arranged for a friend to join the agency's call centre to steer jobs towards Divine Connection. However, by late 2022, internal concerns arose about questionable invoices and job assignments. When it was discovered that Amandeep's business was registered to Neha's home address, she abruptly resigned, claiming she was being unfairly targeted. Also read: Byju Raveendran breaks silence on toxic work culture claims: 'Just a small percentage' Shortly after, the couple altered official company documents to remove Amandeep's name and substituted it with an acquaintance who was unaware of the plan. A criminal investigation was launched by New Zealand's Serious Fraud Office, culminating in a raid on the couple's home in March 2023. Authorities found they owned three properties, three vehicles, and liquid assets amounting to NZ$800,000 (approximately ₹4 crore), much of which had been transferred or attempted to be sent to India. Just weeks after the raid, the Sharmas boarded a one-way business-class flight to Chennai, carrying 80 kilograms of luggage. They had tried to sell off assets and falsely claimed to have dissolved their company before fleeing the country. Despite being under investigation, Neha managed to briefly secure another government job with the NZ Transport Agency using the same fake references. Her husband posed as a referee during the hiring process. Appearing before the High Court in Christchurch, Neha Sharma blamed 'baby brain' for her actions. She is currently serving her sentence in the mothers' and babies' unit. Prosecutors said she showed no genuine remorse or intention to repay the stolen funds. Also read: 'We've lost control': Chilling cockpit audio resurfaces from Alaska Airlines Flight 261 before deadly 2000 crash 'This was a serious breach of public trust,' said Oranga Tamariki CEO Andrew Bridgman, adding that the agency acted quickly once red flags were raised and has since implemented tighter controls. The Ministry of Education, which had received the forged references, confirmed they were not authentic. The agency also noted that Neha's recruitment had been handled by an external firm and that an internal audit found no financial misconduct during her brief time there.
