‘Oku taupotu ‘i lalo ha fakamatala fakaTonga
An Auckland man who fraudulently received $13,600 in Covid-19 relief has been jailed for 20 months.
Jason Laurence Gray made two applications for loans, seeking $27,000, under the Small Business Cashflow Loan (SBCL) scheme despite knowing a business he was part of didn’t meet loan criteria.
The applications were made within a week of each other in June 2020.
The scheme, implemented under urgency in May 2020, used a “high trust” application model so small businesses could access funds quickly during the pandemic.
Gray checked nearly 40 times how the first application was progressing, Inland Revenue said.
Inland Revenue began investigating Gray, and all the SBCL loans associated with him, when it found out one of his bank accounts was used to receive loan money on behalf of an associate.
Appearing in the Pukekohe District Court today, Gray was sentenced on two charges laid by Inland Revenue; as well as a police charge of using forged documents; and a Corrections charge of breaching home detention.
FAKAMATALA FAKATONGA
Na’e ma’u e ha tangata Aokalani ‘i he founga kākā ‘a e $13,600 mei he paanga tokoni ‘a e pule’anga ki he Koviti 19 pea kuo tuku popula ai fe’unga mo e mahina ‘e 20.
Na’e fakahu ha kole no ‘a Jason Laurence Gray ‘e ua ki he pa’anga $27,000 mei he sikiimi Small Cashflow Loan neongo ‘ene ‘ilo ko ‘ene pisnisi ne ‘ikai ke ne ma’u ‘a e fiema’u ki he ngaahi no ko ‘eni’.
Ne fakahu ‘a ‘ene ongo kole ‘i ha uike taki taha he uike ‘e ua ‘i Sune 2020.
Ko e sikiimi ko eni ne fakavave’i hono fokotu’u ‘i Me 2020 pea fakafalala lahi he matu’aki falala ki he kau kole koeuhi ke ma’u ha’anau tokoni fakapa’anga lolotonga ‘a e panatemiki.
Ne a’u ‘o tu’o 40 hono toutou vakai’i ‘e he Gray ‘a e IRD pe kuo fefe ‘ene uluaki kole.
Ne kamata hono fakatotolo’i ‘e he he Inland Revenue ‘a Gray mo e kau no kehe hili ‘enau ‘ilo na’e faka’aonga’i e taha ‘ene ngaahi ‘akauni pangikee ke fakahu ki ai ha no ‘a hono kaunga pisinisi.
Na’e tauteai ai he ‘aho ni ‘i he Pukekohe District Court ke ne ngaue popular ‘i ha faka’ilo ‘e ua ‘o ‘ona ne fai ‘e he IRD pea toe faka’ilo foki ia ‘e he kau polisi ki hano liliu kakaa’i ha tokiumeni pea mo ha toe faka’ilo ‘e taha ‘e he Kolekisini ki hono maumau’i ‘a ‘ene titenisini.
