Joshua Caleb Matthews faced representative charges of dishonestly using Small Business Cashflow Scheme (SBCS) and top-ups, as well as the COVID Support Payment (CSP) applications to get $55,000 he wasn’t entitled to.
He was sentenced to 8 months home detention (to be served in Northland) when he appeared in the Auckland District Court in February.
Matthews wife, Amiria Ihaka, was sentenced to 8 months home detention in November last year after pleading guilty to trying to get $35,000 in Covid relief which she wasn’t entitled to.
Matthews and Ihaka helped each other in respect of two of the offences.
The Covid schemes were introduced in 2020 and 2021 to ensure small businesses could easily access funds to help them through the pandemic period.
In March 2022, Matthews applied for $11,800 in a SBCS loan. The day the money was received it was transferred to Ihaka’s personal bank account and the couple spent the money on personal items.
In total, Matthews made three applications each for CSPs and SBCS loans.
Neither of the two businesses he claimed COVID support for were trading.
Matthews dishonestly submitted the COVID applications knowing that he was not eligible for the payments. The total fraud he attempted, including the SBCL application in the name of Ihaka, was $55,000.