A Tauranga businessman was sentenced to community detention and community work on charges of filing 26 false GST returns, of behalf of a trust.
Alan Graeme Gregory was sentenced in October to six months community detention and 200 hours community work after supplying Inland Revenue with conflicting explanations and numerous altered invoices.
Gregory fraudulently claimed approximately $25,000 which had been paid out to the Gregory Trust, but by sentencing date all that amount had been repaid to Inland Revenue.
The Gregory Trust bought a lifestyle property in Katikati in 2016 and registered for GST on the basis the property would be used for short term rental accommodation and produce/flower growing.
The B&B home stay activity was non-existent and there was negligible horticultural activity. Inland Revenue became suspicious about the Trust’s consistent refund claims and investigations then revealed Gregory had claimed fabricated and entirely personal expenses in the GST returns, and that invoices supplied in support were altered.
Gregory was obstructive throughout the audit and claimed to be in a fragile mental state which he said had led to a huge error in judgement in providing altered returns.
However, the Court however convicted and sentenced Mr Gregory on the basis he had systematically and dishonestly carried on a scheme of claiming GST refunds his trust was not entitled to, over an extended period of time