'Everything we had worked and saved': Couple's $178,000 drained by fraudster

After calling the national transport agency on a private police-only number from prison, inmate Hayden Gobey gave staff an ID number and fake name and listed his rank as either constable or detective. 

Believing they were talking to a serving police officer, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) staff provided Gobey with people’s personal details, including driver licence numbers, physical addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. 

From 11 calls, Gobey, who was a serving prisoner in South Auckland, gained the details of 26 strangers, which he passed to associates outside prison who used them to run credit checks. 

Gobey then used that information to access his victims’ online banking accounts. 

After becoming aware of the phone calls, guards searched Gobey’s cell, finding notebooks containing numerous victims’ personal details, including some he had previously targeted. 

Now Gobey’s audacious, persistent offending – some of which was from behind bars – has been laid out in a 56-page summary of facts. 

It details how, over two years, Gobey used deception and impersonation to fraudulently access his victims’ personal documents and accounts, often transferring control to himself before siphoning funds to himself. 

At Friday’s sentencing in the Wellington District Court, Judge Bill Hastings described Gobey’s offending as some of the worst he’d seen in his judicial career, calling it vast, sustained, premeditated, complex and highly sophisticated. 

The judge also took the unusual step of barring Gobey from being issued with an electronic identity credential for a period of 10 years, effectively preventing Gobey from holding a RealMe account, which allows people to securely log into government services and some banks online. 

According to the summary, Gobey twice accessed his victims’ RealMe accounts, changing passwords and access information. 

During the two-hour hearing, Gobey, 33, who’d attended by video link from Whanganui Prison, sat silent and motionless. 

For his victims, some of whom were seated at the back of the court, the only clue to motive was a brief mention in a pre-sentence report, where Gobey blamed the offending on his drug addiction and told the report writer, “he got a buzz from it”. 

No empathy or moral consciousness 

According to the summary, while in jail, Gobey stole $20,000 from one man’s online account. 

In his victim impact statement, the man spoke of the stress and anxiety he had experienced as a result of the theft. 

He told the court of the time it took to replace his driver’s licence and online passwords. 

“This series of events leads me to distrust people and organisations. 

“I would like to think the perpetrator receives an appropriate sentence and comments from myself and others have some effect on his conscience, although I imagine that is unlikely.” 

Hayden Rae Gobey appeared by video link from Whanganui Prison. 

While behind bars, Gobey also impersonated a member of a bank’s fraud team and called a customer, convincing her to disclose her Eftpos number and password. 

The woman said she found it upsetting that someone had attempted to use her personal information to steal money and it had affected her peace of mind. 

“What concerns me most is that my personal details have been compromised and could potentially be used again in the future.” 

Later, upon his release from prison, Gobey continued to offend, despite a bail condition not to use internet-capable devices. 

He drained $178,000 from an elderly couple’s savings account. 

“Everything we had worked [for] and saved over decades was taken,” the man said, describing the shock of what happened as overwhelming. 

On learning of the theft, his wife had burst into tears, and he felt confused and distressed. 

Although their bank refunded most of the money, it had changed the way they lived. 

They no longer used internet banking and were too scared to use their phones for anything other than basic communication. 

Instead, they relied on in-person or phone banking, which made things more difficult. 

“This crime has taken away our sense of safety, independence and peace of mind. We constantly feel anxious and afraid we might be targeted again. 

“We’ve become more cautious and suspicious and uneasy in our everyday lives.” 

Distrust was a common theme through the 15 victim impact statements read out to the court by Crown prosecutor Ben Wilkins. 

Gobey’s victims, many elderly, have been left feeling paranoid and insecure. 

They described the frustration, sleepless nights and time off work they experienced as a result of Gobey’s actions and the hours they had spent sorting out banks and agencies like Inland Revenue as a result of having their identities stolen. 

Several said they no longer answered phone calls from numbers they didn’t know. 

“I consider the defendant to be a major risk to society. He has no empathy or moral consciousness of how damaging it is to people,” one said. 

“It has been going on for eight years, and things keep cropping up. He knows everything about me, including where I live because he got my credit rating,” another said. 

Gobey targeted individuals, company, government department 

Gobey, who initially faced 93 charges, was sentenced on 18 representative charges for fraud and drug offending and one charge of breaching a sentence of intensive supervision. 

A representative charge means he committed multiple offences of the same type in similar circumstances. 

His 22 victims also included a company and a government department, the name of which is suppressed. 

Gobey gained access to the department’s computer system by impersonating an employee, downloading data, ordering laptops and deleting another staff member’s emails. 

Gobey also attempted to obtain a further $297,000 in goods and cash, including on one occasion placing an order for $150,000 of equipment from a hire outlet, including a concrete mixer, post hole borer, air compressor and a flamethrower. 

Before Gobey’s arrest in April last year, police were watching as associates dropped off a stolen Ford Territory belonging to a former All Black. 

Two days later, when police raided Gobey’s house, they found the man’s passport, documents and the car’s correct registration plates in Gobey’s living room. 

Police also found 11kg of a fantasy-type substance and four-point bags of methamphetamine, which had an estimated value of $60,000. 

Judge Bill Hastings described Gobey's dishonesty offending as vast, sustained, premeditated, complex and highly sophisticated. Photo / NZME 

His best friend, but worst father 

Gobey, who already has 81 previous convictions for dishonesty and two for methamphetamine, accepted a sentencing indication in May of 10 years’ jail. 

The question for Judge Hastings was what credit Gobey would receive for personal factors. 

Gobey’s lawyer Julia Spiers began by telling the court her client acknowledged the extensive and enduring harm he caused his victims. 

Spiers sought credit for Gobey’s difficult upbringing, in particular from his father, who introduced his son to methamphetamine and burglary in his teens. 

This had a major role in Gobey’s life spiralling out of control, she said. 

She said Gobey had a complex relationship with his father, describing him as “his best friend, but worst father”. 

“Essentially it is submitted that Gobey’s addiction and his personal circumstances have had a causal connection to this offending and that some credit should be applied.” 

But Wilkins said Gobey had accepted a long prison sentence was inevitable and therefore only a modest credit was appropriate. 

‘Some of the worst offending’: Judge 

In sentencing, Judge Hastings said neither the Crown nor the defence could find comparable cases that matched the persistence, complexity and vastness of Gobey’s offending. 

“This is some of the worst offending I have seen in my 16 years as a judge.” 

In terms of aggravating factors, the judge referred to the amount of money Gobey stole, the duration of the offending, the number of victims and the significant impact the offending had on Gobey’s victims, which, he said, was difficult to listen to. 

Judge Hastings acknowledged Gobey should be entitled to some credit for his upbringing and addiction, but stopped short of finding a link between Gobey’s substance abuse and the offending, saying much of it had taken place while Gobey was in custody and therefore wasn’t consuming drugs. 

Gobey was sentenced on charges of accessing a computer system for dishonest purposes, interfering with a computer system, taking a document for pecuniary advantage, forgery, intention to access a computer system for dishonest purpose, receiving, accessing a computer system without authorisation, possession of methamphetamine, possessing fantasy type substances for supply, impersonating police, blackmail and breaching intensive supervision. 

Judge Hastings imposed a final sentence of nine years and eight months in jail, ordering that Gobey must serve at least five years. 

The judge declined to order reparation, saying there was no realistic prospect Gobey would ever pay it. 

Deliberately deceptive: Police 

Detective Inspector Stuart Mills said Gobey’s offending was sophisticated and serious fraud that involved the dishonest access and misuse of personal information. 

“Victims lost thousands of dollars and this will have caused an extreme amount of financial stress, both short and long term. 

“The offending was deliberately deceptive in nature and is likely to have had a significant impact on victims, undermining their trust not only in individuals but also in a range of organisations and services.” 

Mireille Johnson, the Department of Internal Affairs’ investigations identity manager, said the department took the security and integrity of RealMe “very seriously”. 

“Offending of this nature, where someone impersonates other individuals and misuses the identity verification service, undermines trust in New Zealand’s digital identity systems. 

“We work closely with domestic and international partners, including New Zealand Police, to detect and respond to this kind of offending. We welcome this outcome and hope it sends a clear message that those who seek to abuse New Zealand’s identity systems will be held accountable.” 

Catherine Hutton is an Open Justice reporter, based in Wellington. She has worked as a journalist at the Waikato Times and RNZ. Most recently she was working as a media adviser at the Ministry of Justice.