'Simply beyond belief': Pensioner jailed over $243k bus fare scam

An Auckland bus driver who dreamed up a sophisticated long-running fare scam that cheated his employer out of $243,000 has blamed his poor decision-making on mental health issues caused by passenger assaults.

Epsom resident Loganathan Manikum Pillay, 67, asked a judge for mercy last week as he appeared in Auckland District Court for sentencing.

He’s now a pensioner who drives an Uber part-time to make ends meet, but he’d be willing to pay $25,000 upfront out of his KiwiSaver and $2000 per month thereafter to slowly reimburse Ritchies, his lawyer said, arguing for 70% in sentence reductions so that his client could have a non-custodial outcome.

But Judge Kevin Glubb, during his last day on the bench before his own retirement, described the proposed repayment offer as “unrealistic” and “simply beyond belief” – especially given Pillay had already squandered all of the stolen fares at SkyCity Casino.

The judge instead ordered a prison sentence, declining to require reparation.

If Pillay wanted, after prison, to clear his conscience by contacting Ritchies and volunteering payments, he should “by all means” do so, the judge suggested. But he didn’t see it as a strong basis for substantially reducing the retiree’s punishment.

Pillay, who had been a bus and taxi driver for most of his career, was hired as a casual worker by Ritches in 2024 to operate one of four buses on the company’s Skydrive route.

For a $20 adult fare, the buses haul passengers directly between SkyCity in the city centre and Auckland Airport. Customers can book tickets online, pay cash or use an Eftpos machine as they embark.

In February last year, Pillay purchased his own Eftpos machine. He registered it under the name “Skydrive”, but all payments went to his own bank account. The scheme worked so well that he repeated it more than 11,500 times over eight months.

He was finally caught after a customer contacted Ritchies about an overcharge and staff were unable to find any record of the transaction. The customer provided a receipt with the terminal number, which after an internal investigation was traced back to the defendant.

Retired bus driver Loganathan Pillay, 67, appears in Auckland District Court for sentencing after admitting to a $243,000 fare scam. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

When approached, “the defendant stated that he knew this was in relation to him pocketing some money whilst working for the bus company”, the agreed summary of facts states.

During last week’s hearing, Pillay’s lawyer emphasised that his client was remorseful despite a pre-sentencing report questioning his attitude towards the theft.

“He says there was a mental change and he wasn’t himself,” lawyer Lincoln Burns explained, noting that Pillay had an otherwise clean record. “This fractured personality that he didn’t recognise is the one that expressed itself.”

The lawyer pointed out that his client has not gotten rich off the scam, explaining: “The fares that should have ended up in the pockets of Skydrive shareholders have instead ended up in the pockets of SkyCity shareholders.”

Judge Glubb noted that Pillay told a pre-sentence report writer that he doesn’t have a gambling problem. But the defendant has received therapy for a workplace injury that caused trauma and reports that he is getting back to the person he used to be, the judge added.

Pillay faced a sentence of up to seven years’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to a representative charge of obtaining by deception.

The defence sought a 39-month starting point followed by discounts of 10% for his apology letter to Ritchies and willingness to participate in a meeting with the company; 20% for his remorse and offer to pay reparations; 10% for previous good character; 25% for his guilty plea; and 5% for his background which included growing up in difficult circumstances in South Africa and suffering assaults while working in public transport.

Judge Kevin Glubb. Photo / Dean Purcell

The judge instead ordered a higher starting point of 42 months, suggested by police, followed by 35% in combined discounts for his guilty plea, previously clean record and offer to pay reparations.

It resulted in a sentence of two years and three months’ imprisonment, just above the two-year threshold at which judges can consider replacing a prison term with a non-custodial alternative.

It took significant planning and pre-mediation to commit such a large theft, Judge Glubb said, adding that Pillay breached the trust of his employer “in a gross manner”.

“None of that does you any credit.”

Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.