Auckland man in $70k Covid-19 fraud given three days to pay back money

An Auckland man who received more than $70,000 he wasn’t entitled to in Covid-19 payments has been sentenced to community detention.

Martin Kenneth Kells faced a representative charge of dishonestly using a document to get money he wasn‘t entitled to when he appeared for sentence on September 11.

Kells made six Small Business Cashflow Scheme (SBCS) applications in his name and that of his related companies and trust, in each case knowing his eligibility declarations were false.

He received $70,800.

The SBCS was set up in April 2020 using a “high trust” model to help businesses access funds during the pandemic.

Eligibility included a minimum 30% decline in actual or predicted revenue between January and June 2020. The business also had to exist before April 1, 2020.

The money Kells received was paid into his personal account or an account he controlled, and it was spent on groceries, school fees, credit card payments, alcohol or transferred to his ex-wife.

Kells made no voluntary repayments, but his brother repaid one loan of $11,800.

His application for a discharge without conviction was declined.

Kells was also ordered to pay the remaining core debt of $59,000 by September 18.