Man Sentenced for Two Years for Wage Subsidy Fraud with Stolen Identity

A New Zealand man has been sentenced to two years and two weeks in prison for obtaining wage subsidies using forged documents and multiple identities.

Casey John Burtt Smith used a stolen driver's licence that he doctored to include his own photo in order to set up bank accounts to receive the subsidies.

He made a total of 43 applications for wage subsidies and leave support payments between April 2020 and April 2022, with five of these being successful.

Smith's sentencing judge noted the high level of breach of trust in his offending.

To date, 39 people have been prosecuted for wage subsidy misuse in New Zealand.