KEY POINTS:
Former New Zealand Rugby League chairman Graham William Carden was jailed today after admitting six fraud charges.
Carden, 54, appeared for sentence in Wellington District Court after pleading guilty on June 6 to six representative charges laid by the Department of Internal Affairs.
They are two counts of forgery, two of making a false declaration and one count each of using a document with intent to defraud and dishonestly using a document.
The Crown withdrew a further 124 charges at his previous appearance.
The charges related to a karaoke business Carden started in Porirua in 2002, Premier Music Ltd.
Despite being bankrupt, he took control of the business's finances.
He applied for gaming machine grant funding, forging a variety of documents, including some from members of his own family.
He was also given $35,000 by Work and Income New Zealand to run a karaoke operators' training course.
The court was told that the course provided a limited amount of theoretical training before participants began working in licensed premises.
Carden called this the "work experience" component. It meant he was able to purchase extra karaoke equipment.
The Crown sought reparation of $125,210. Judge Denys Barry described the offending as "premeditated".
He sentenced Carden to 21 months' imprisonment but granted leave to apply for home detention. He also ordered him to pay $42,000 reparation.
- NZPA
