2005 media releases
Tip-off leads to jail sentence for dishonest tax agent
16 December 2005
Unqualified North Shore book keeper & tax agent Linda Lamont (39) was today sentenced to three and a half years in prison in the Wellington District Court, after pleading guilty to charges of changing and using documents with intent to obtain a pecuniary advantage or benefit.
Ms Lamont pleaded guilty to 146 charges of document fraud laid by Inland Revenue under the provisions of the Crimes Act 1961, following an extensive tax investigation into her personal tax affairs and those of her associated entities and 33 of her clients.
The investigation showed that Ms Lamont defrauded her clients of $615,757 and committed another $254,175 fraud in relation to her own core tax position by misappropriating monies and filing false tax returns.
Ms Lamont is currently serving a 15-month jail term for a previous conviction for theft as an employee. The new sentence is cumulative to the current term.
"The current case shows a deliberate fraud that clearly involved a high level of systematic deception - of her clients and of Inland Revenue," says senior Inland Revenue spokesperson Richard Philp.
Based on victim impact reports, Mr Philp said it was easy to see the extent of damage Lamont had inflicted on a number of her clients, both financially and emotionally. "As Justice Tuohy said in his sentencing notes, for many clients, Lamont's actions were particularly hurtful and disappointing, given the degree of trust they had placed in someone who was meant to be looking out for their financial wellbeing."
Today's sentence highlighted the aggravating features of this case, which included a gross breach of trust, and the extent and duration of the offending. "The sentence gives a strong message to those who deliberately attempt to defraud the revenue and the wide community," says Mr Philp. "It also sends a message to people in the community that fraudsters will be caught and the Courts will deal severely with them, especially where there is a breach of trust.
"We started investigating Ms Lamont after an anonymous tip-off that indicated irregularities in accounts she had prepared. Tip-offs are a useful tool for Inland Revenue, and help ensure everybody pays their proper level of tax. As long as we get enough detail to act on, we take tip-offs very seriously and we treat them with strict confidentiality," says Mr Philp.
The Department's dedicated 0800 anonymous information line is 0800 377 774.
Other media releases this year
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- Family Assistance Payments to be made early
- High Wealth programme brings in millions of extra tax dollars
- Identity theft, fraud lead to jail for Palmerston North man
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- Hamilton man sentenced on tax fraud
- Auckland consultant gets 12 months in jail for GST fraud
- Inland Revenue signs Hewlett Packard to supply Notebook Computers
- Tauranga man jailed for horticultural tax evasion
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- Auckland barrister jailed for tax evasion
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- Cambridge students scoop national award for tax knowledge
- US, NZ agree on tax treatment of fiscally transparent entities
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- Inland Revenue not letting up on BoP tax evasion
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- Inland Revenue welcomes sentence in $40,000 evasion case
Corporate Affairs
Inland Revenue
To make a media query:
Phone 04 890 1698 or email mediaqueries@ird.govt.nz
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New Zealand
Date published: 20 Dec 2005
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