Man to repay Covid 19 subsidies using cash seized in police search

Police did not have a warrant when they searched a seaside property in Mount Maunganui. Photo / NZME

A man who wrongly received $21,000 in Covid wage subsidies has struck a deal to pay it back with cash seized from his house, along with drugs and a gun, during an unlawful police search.

The agreement James Spencer Bayley made with police has been called “sensible and pragmatic” by a High Court judge.

Police searched Bayley’s seaside home in Mount Maunganui in May 2020 and found drugs, a firearm and $31,690 in cash.

Bayley has accepted that the money is “tainted property” he received from drug offending and fraud, according to a civil case decision by Justice Layne Harvey.

However, police did not have a warrant for the search, and Justice Harvey said it had since been deemed to be unlawful.

This raised the prospect that Bayley could contest the seizure of the cash which had been made under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act.

But Bayley also accepted that he owed the Ministry of Social Development $21,314 that he had wrongfully received in Covid-19 wage subsidies.

“It is agreed between the Commissioner [of Police] and Mr Bayley that his debt to the ministry can be repaid from the funds seized, with the balance being forfeited under an asset forfeiture order,” Justice Harvey said.

Bayley and the police filed a joint memorandum to the High Court seeking an order to seal the deal.

Justice Harvey said the court’s approval was not a “rubber stamping exercise”.

“I am satisfied that the proposed terms of settlement are consistent with the objectives and principles of the Act and are in the interests of justice,” he said.

“The finality of a settlement on these terms and the certainty it brings for the parties will avoid further costs, delay and litigation risk.”

Justice Harvey decided that the $21,314 should be repaid to the Ministry of Social Development for the wage subsidy, and the balance of the $31,690 be given to the Crown.

“The search of his premises was undertaken without a warrant and subsequently that search was found to be unlawful,” Justice Harvey said.

“However, Mr Bayley has conceded the cash is related to criminal offending.

“The commissioner and Mr Bayley accordingly accept that this agreement settles all matters in the proceeding arising out of the police search of his address on May 3, 2020.”

The Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was passed in 2009 with the purpose of reducing the chance that criminals could benefit from their ill-gotten gains. The money and property seized can be given to the Crown under a court order.

Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay. His writing in the crime and justice sphere is informed by four years of front-line experience as a probation officer.