A Gisborne couple has been sentenced for tax fraud involving Working for Families, GST, and income tax.
Claude Jack Cory Saddlier and Amanda Phillipa Manuel faced charges of knowingly not providing information to Inland Revenue (IR) in order to get Working for Families Tax Credits (WFTC) payments they were not entitled to.
Saddlier was also charged with failing to register for GST and failing to file tax returns with the intent to evade income tax and GST.
In the Gisborne District Court on 29 July, Judge Cathcart noted Saddlier’s offending was straight theft from the community and that it was done solely out of greed to fund his gambling habit.
Both Saddlier and Manuel had earlier pleaded guilty to the charges and were given a discount for doing so. Judge Cathcart sentenced Saddlier to 7 months home detention and Manuel to 5 and ½ months community detention.
Working for Families fraud
Saddlier and Manuel married in 2022.
Saddlier had shared custody of a child from a previous relationship, and Manuel had one child in her care, plus two of a family member’s children in her care for several years.
WFTC helps low-income families with dependent children under 18 years of age. Entitlements are based on the families’ total annual income and family circumstances.
Each registered for WFTC as a single parent and were required to tell Inland Revenue if that changed.
Inland Revenue started investigating the couple in 2024 and the charges relate to nine tax years from April 2017 to 31 March 2025.
During subsequent interviews it emerged that the couple lived at the same property during the offending. Their finances were intermingled.
Saddlier received self-employed income that he didn’t disclose and received $24,447.74 he was not entitled to.
Manuel received $56,911.81 she was not entitled to.
GST and Income Tax fraud
Saddlier works as a crane operator and has also been printing t-shirts, making leather vests, and tattooing to generate income for around 7 years.
The annual income from his own business yielded as much as $190,449.13 one year and he earned enough to cross the threshold requiring him to register for GST and file GST returns.
He was advised over several years to file his outstanding tax returns, but he did not do so.
Saddlier spent nearly $1.3 million over 7 years and spent around $400,000 gambling.
He evaded $91,801.01 in income tax and $30,315 in GST.