An Auckland man who used several identities to get more than $100-thousand in COVID relief money was sentenced to 10 months home detention and ordered to pay more than $50-thousand in reparations.
Between May 2020 and March 2022 Harry Singh dishonestly submitted 23 applications to Inland Revenue, in his own name and the names of 15 different taxpayers.
He was sentenced in the Auckland District Court on 1 May 2026.
His applications related to various financial support schemes introduced by the Government to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 restrictions on local businesses.
The schemes were administered by Inland Revenue and operated under a “high trust model” which relied on the declarations made by applicants.
The Small Business Cashflow Loan (SBCS) was introduced in April 2020, the Resurgence Support Payment (RSP) in February 2021, and in March 2022, the Government introduced a SBCS Top-up.
COVID relief
As part the application for a SBCS, Singh was required to make various declarations, including that the applicant had the legal right to apply for the loan on behalf of the borrower.
The loan money was to be used to pay for core operating costs (including, but not limited to rent, insurance, utilities, supplier payments, or rates).
Between 12 May 2020 and 25 March 2022 Singh submitted 16 SBCS applications, six RSP applications, and one SBCS Top-up application.
He made applications for himself, his ex-wife, his father (who had passed away), friends, wider family members, former clients, and companies he had set up but which never traded.
He used the $108,000 money he received to pay for living expenses and a personal loan for a family vehicle.
Examples
In May 2020, Singh submitted a SBCS application for National Security Limited (NSL) - a company he formerly ran with his ex-wife. The money was deposited in a joint bank account and then transferred into his account at another bank and used to pay off a personal loan. He also made an application in his ex-wife’s name falsely claiming he was authorised to do so.
Singh made two applications for SBCS loans for a company owned by a friend who was overseas at the time and which had as its shareholders Singh’s parents. The money was transferred from the friend’s bank account into Singh’s and used for personal living expenses.
The sentence
The total fraud perpetrated by Singh amounts to $224,400. The total amount paid out by IR was $108,000.