Serious Fraud Office charges Auckland man over alleged $600k of wage subsidy fraud

In the first case it has brought in relation to alleged Covid-19 wage subsidy fraud, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has charged an Auckland man for allegedly submitting 42 false applications totalling $1.88 million.

The SFO says Hun Min Im, 33, is alleged to have received $600,000 of the $1.88 million he attempted to claim by using applications containing false information. Charges have been filed against him under the Crimes Act, including 13 charges of obtaining by deception and 29 charges of dishonest use of a document. He appeared in the Auckland District Court on Friday, entering not guilty pleas to all charges. His next appearance is scheduled for November 23.

The SFO says the case comes after the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) referred multiple allegations of serious wage subsidy abuse to the SFO last year after its own investigations. Ten other SFO investigations are on-going.

“The theft of public money is a serious crime which diverts government funds away from where they’re most needed. This is particularly acute in times of crisis, such as during a global pandemic,” says SFO Director Karen Chang.

“We are pleased to apply our specialised expertise to advance this prosecution, building upon the extensive work undertaken by MSD.”

Based on a similar scheme used in post-earthquake Christchurch, the wage subsidy was available to employers during 2020 and 2021 who were significantly impacted by Covid-19, and its related government-imposed restrictions, and were concerned about struggling to retain employees because of this.

Billions of dollars was paid out through the wage subsidy, which in May 2020 was supporting more than 1.65 million jobs. It's credited with helping preserve jobs through the pandemic. However, an Auditor-General's report in May 2021 concluded that some ineligible businesses may have got the subsidy.