March 27, 2018
Consent rort earns home detention
A former trustee of Te Kawerau Iwi Tribal Authority has been sentenced to eight months of home detention for fraud, including taking kickbacks for withdrawing public submissions he lodged on behalf of the iwi in opposition to a proposed change to a district plan.
Saul Brendon Roberts was also to pay ordered more than $160,000 in reparations to a tax-payer funded disability trust, Te Roopu Taurima O Manukau Trust.
As the trust’s former asset manager Roberts solicited kickbacks from various suppliers, including an auto repairs workshops owned by his co-defendant, Atish Narayan.
Roberts had previously pleaded guilty to all five charges he faced in relation to his work at the two trusts.
Serious Fraud Office director Julie Read says Roberts illegally exploited his employment positions for personal financial gain.
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