An Auckland builder was sentenced to home detention on tax evasion charges.
Clinton Faualii Falefa was sentenced in the Auckland District Court on 1 September 2026 to 10 months home detention for evading more than $350,000 in income tax, GST and PAYE.
Falefa has worked in the construction sector since 2019. In March 2022 he started a company, F4 Builders Limited, as a labour hire business supplying labour to large construction companies.
F4 Builders Limited was registered with Inland Revenue for GST, income tax and as an employer for pay as you earn (PAYE) and withholding tax (EMP).
Inland Revenue (IR) began an audit of Falefa and F4 Builders and obtained bank account information and invoices from construction companies who had hired labour from F4.
Falefa employed 20 different individuals as either employees or contractors with payments to workers of almost $850,000 over the three years.
F4 Builders Limited traded between 14 April 2022 and 14 February 2025 and while Falefa was trading through the business was making between $219,564.00 and $751,721.93 each year.
Falefa spent $444,261.36 across the three income tax years (averaging out to $148,087.121 per annum) and paid more than $100,000 to his partner.
Falefa was the controlling mind of F4 Builders Limited and knowingly evaded GST of $131,032.66, EMP of $169,844.49 and personal income tax of $51,306.41 – a total of $352,183.56.
Judge Clark said the gravity of the offending was high given the amount and duration of the offending and Falefa’s personal gain.
His Honour began sentencing with a starting point of 30 months imprisonment and gave Falefa a 20% discount for an early guilty plea and 12% for personal circumstances and previous good conduct.
That brought the end sentence to 20 months' imprisonment, commuted to 10 months' home detention. Judge Clark also imposed further conditions, including the requirement to attend budgeting courses.