The pair then allegedly supplied the beneficiaries with fake documents to make it look like the work had been carried out, and they received a 25 per cent cut.
According to police charge sheets, the couple allegedly used false documents to also get Work and Income payments for whiteware and furniture.
The beneficiaries have been left with the bill, and Associate Social Development Minister Chester Borrows said last week that the money would be deducted from benefit payments.
"We're bloody getting that money back,'' he said.
Asked if the beneficiaries would also be facing charges, Mr Borrows said that would be a matter for staff at the Ministry of Social Development to decide, but in some cases it may not make sense to carry out an expensive prosecution.
He said the average amount of the emergency loans was $300.
Mr Borrows said a similar case could not be repeated because ministry staff now carried out checks on the people who claimed to perform emergency dental work.
Detective Inspector Mark Gutry said police were aware others were involved but their focus was on the "principal offenders''.
Asked about the scale of the alleged offending, he said: "They're all different. We see some big ones and small ones. This one is certainly significant.''
The have been remanded on bail to their Papatoetoe home, and are due back in court next month.
