Fraud costs $6200

Press, 19 May 1981, Page 7

Fraud costs $6200

PA Ashburton A motor-cycle company which issued false invoices to customers to allow them to claim a total of more than $lO,OOO in refunds from the Customs Department they were not entitled to will have to meet fines, costs and solicitor’s fees of $6245 after a decision released by the District Court in Ashburton.

The company, K. I. Walker, Ltd, which trades in Ashburton as Honda Country, had admitted 37 charges of enabling people to obtain refunds of sales tax by issu-

ing invoices which were not genuine. The case was heard before Judge Frampton, of Christchurch, in the Ashburton Court last week and the Judge reserved his decision as to the penalty. The total sales value of the motor-cycles involved was $63,855. In his decision, his Honour said the defendant company was liable to a fine on each charge not exceeding $4OO or three times the sale value of the goods whichever was the greater. This meant if the maximum fine was imposed on each charge the company

would be facing fines totalling $191,565. Two other defendants, have been dealt with on two similar charges. In each case the defendant was fined $7OO on each charge, the judge said. “If the same scale was applied to the present defendant the total fines on 37 charges would total $25,900 without the addition of court costs and solicitors’ fees,” Judge Frampton said. The offences were committed July 5, 1979, and April 22, 1980, and related to the sle of three-wheeled farm motorcycles.