An Indian couple has been accused of defrauding more than $2 million from Oranga Tamariki, a New Zealand government agency responsible for supporting children and young people.
The court had sentenced his wife Neha Sharma to three years in prison for planning all the ways of the fraud. As her husband Amandeep Sharma also pleaded guilty, his sentencing will be considered on June 19.
The fraud was committed through Divine Connection, a Christchurch-based construction company run by her husband, Amandeep Sharma. As part of her work at Oranga Tamariki, Neha Sharma was responsible for organising contractors to carry out repairs and maintenance on properties in the Canterbury region and overseeing the work through the job management system Logit.
Neha Sharma made 103 payments to Divine Connection between July 22, 2021, and October 28, 2022, relating to 326 invoices. The total amount of these payments was $2.1 million.
At the time of their arrest, the couple owned three properties, three cars and had approximately $800,000 in cash in their joint bank accounts.
Amandeep had transferred funds from a Bank of India account in New Zealand to seven other bank accounts in India. Amandeep Sharma told investigators that he had sold his company to Bajaj, but there is no record of the couple receiving money from Bajaj in connection with any sale.
After the couple was arrested, their eldest child was taken back to India by Amandeep's sister.
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