ACC identified the key players, four of whom appeared in Hamilton District Court today for sentencing.
Jacqueline Whaanga, 32, was deemed the most culpable, followed by Ashleigh Mei Te Hira, 37, Melody Haupokia-Kawerau, 35, and Mohammed Zahed Hussain, 42.
They had earlier pleaded guilty to two charges each of accessing a computer system for dishonest purposes between November 1 and 17, 2023.
Whaanga and Te Hira faced additional charges of failing to appear.
‘Houses, parks, vacant properties, even paddocks’
Travel reimbursements help people with expenses involved in travelling to and from things such as medical appointments, treatment and rehabilitation.
To provide ease of access, ACC developed the MyACC app to allow clients to enter personal information, including bank accounts, and lodge requests.
In July 2023, ACC amended the rules and increased the limit for clients making travel reimbursement (CTR) claims.
Any claims over a certain threshold or quantity would be referred to staff for approval.
In what police describe as a “semi-organised and systematic course of action”, the group, along with 1040 others, set about filing fake travel reimbursement claims.
The group would file their own, then get other associates in on the game, and would receive funds either directly from their own application or proceeds from others.
They would encourage associates to create a MyACC account and submit “numerous” applications often within 15 minutes or less.
They used fake addresses as their “travel from address” and those addresses were used across “multiple clients and requests”.
The “travel to” addresses did not belong to treatment providers and were often houses, parks, vacant properties, or even paddocks.
As for their reason, they would submit “long haul truck driver”, “social rehab”, or groupings of “intelligible letters”.
Once the maximum number of claims had been submitted, they would get a new associate to do the same thing.
ACC noticed the abnormal activity in mid-November and found a large number of “clients” were using similar travel addresses, reasons for travel, and sharing bank account and phone numbers.
ACC identified 1044 people filed 10,093 fake claims, of which 4266 were paid, totalling $652,857.57.
A further 5827 requests, totalling $919,717.96 were stopped before payment.
The defendants were either directly or indirectly involved in about 25% of the fraudulent activity in that period.
Jacqueline Whaanga
Jacqueline Whaanga, 32, had her sentencing in Hamilton District Court adjourned today and she will reappear on Monday. Photo / Belinda Feek
Whaanga was connected to 36 associates who filed 388 claims, of which 177 were successful. She had $7833.77 deposited into her bank account, but a further $80,000 was deposited into accounts she was linked to.
Whaanga turned up late to sentencing this morning and an unhappy Judge Noel Cocurullo issued a warrant for arrest.
She walked into court this afternoon and had her sentencing adjourned until Monday.
She was granted further bail but on a 24-hour curfew.
Ashleagh Mei Te Hira
Ashleah Te Hira, 37, in Hamilton District Court for sentencing today. Photo / Belinda Feek
Te Hira was connected to 57 others who filed 400 false claims, of which 266 were successful.
She had $13,583.60 deposited into her bank account and a further $38,000 paid into accounts she was linked to.
Her counsel, Stephen Taylor, said the point of difference for his client was the fact she had not appeared in court before.
He tried unsuccessfully to argue against Judge Cocurullo’s 10% increase for prolonging court proceedings because of her two charges of failing to attend court.
Taylor said his client became involved as she was in emergency housing at the time and in financial difficulty.
Judge Cocurullo sentenced Te Hira to six months’ home detention after deeming her second most culpable behind Whaanga.
Melody Haupokia-Kawerau
Melody Haupokia-Kawerau, 35, was given a sentence of home detention when she appeared in Hamilton District Court today. Photo / Belinda Feek
Haupokia-Kawerau had 49 associates who filed 268 claims totalling just over $50,000. There was $10,746.82 deposited into her account, and a further $32,700 into accounts she had links to.
Counsel Shelley Gilbert said her client was remorseful and successfully attended a restorative justice conference with ACC representatives.
She was also prepared to pay the money back and had a $3000 deposit. Gilbert said it would have been more but she had to pay for the funeral of her husband.
Haupokia-Kawerau was currently setting up a beauty business from home.
Judge Cocurullo agreed to keep her out of jail and sentenced her to five months’ home detention and ordered her to pay reparation of $10,746.82.
Mohammed Zahed Hussain
Mohammed Zahed Hussain, 42, appears for sentencing in Hamilton District Court today for his role in a widespread ACC fraud.
Hussain had 20 clients who filed 157 claims totalling $27,800. A further $9234.47 was deposited into his personal account and $88,258.33 into a secondary account.
His lawyer, Vhari Thursby, pushed for a lesser sentence for her client as he would lose his job if he were given home detention.
He was currently earning $1000 a week and could make significant inroads on reparation, as opposed to being on a benefit.
However, Judge Cocurullo said Hussain already had poor form complying with community-based sentences and didn’t trust that he would complete it successfully.
Hussain was sentenced to four months’ home detention and ordered to pay reparation of $9234.47.
‘ACC fraud is not a victimless crime’
Michael Frampton, ACC deputy chief executive service delivery, welcomed the sentencing, saying it sent a strong message that fraud wouldn’t be tolerated and if people committed it, they would be caught.
“Defrauding ACC isn’t a victimless crime and we have zero tolerance for it.
“It undermines the fairness of the scheme, impacts those who genuinely need our support and puts ACC’s future at risk.
“For these reasons, we’re significantly increasing the capacity of the team dedicated to detecting and investigating fraud.”
Annually, ACC processed more than two million claims, with the majority of payments to injured New Zealanders and their healthcare and rehabilitation providers seeking ACC funds or reimbursements.
“Most of our clients and providers do the right thing, but if they don’t, we’ll take decisive action,” he said.
Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 10 years and has been a journalist for 21.