Christine Joy Scott, outside the Hamilton District Court today after sentencing, defrauded four different property rental companies tens of thousands in unpaid rent. Photo / Belinda Feek
Christine Joy Scott, outside the Hamilton District Court today after sentencing, defrauded four different property rental companies tens of thousands in unpaid rent. Photo / Belinda Feek
A Hamilton woman defrauded four property rental companies over nearly three years, costing them tens of thousands of dollars.
Christine Joy Scott, aged 49, went to such extreme lengths to avoid paying rent that she falsified her driver’s licence and handed over fakebank statement payments in a series of different Tenancy Tribunal hearings over two years.
She was so dogged in her lies that one property management company even created a Kiwibank account to make it easier for her to make her fake payments into.
After two years of defrauding two property management companies – with a third noticing her altered driver’s licence – she was arrested but told police, “Sounds like someone has been using my name for something.”
She eventually admitted her charges and was bailed but just three months later, in July 2023, she was back at it.
This time she targeted two more property rental companies, clocking up more than $10,000 in unpaid rent.
Scott was in the Hamilton District Court for sentencing on Friday afternoon before Judge Glen Marshall on four charges of knowingly altering documents, two charges of intending to mislead a tribunal, and three charges of using an altered document with intent to defraud, which has a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
‘I’ve paid my rent'
On March 15, 2021, Scott viewed a rental property on Bellmont Ave, Hamilton, that was being managed by Harcourts Hamilton.
An essential part of her application to rent the property was to submit proof of identification, to enable companies to carry out background and credit checks.
For reasons unknown, Scott altered her driver’s licence by incorrectly changing her middle name to “Jen” and altering her date of birth and driver’s licence number.
She was given the property on April 9 but by July 21 she was nearly $1400 in arrears. In mediation it was arranged she would pay an extra $300 a week on top of her weekly $490 payment.
Scott didn’t. Instead, she ended up in the Tenancy Tribunal owing $2130.
She attended the hearing via phone and told the tribunal she’d paid two outstanding payments so the tribunal was unable to terminate her tenancy.
Under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, the tribunal must terminate a tenancy that is at least 21 days in arrears unless satisfied it has been cleared or is unlikely to reoccur.
Harcourts challenged Scott’s claim, saying nothing had been paid by July 30.
Two further hearings were held, and Scott produced fake ASB Bank screenshots showing payments had been made. She was so convincing that the adjudicator ruled in her favour.
But Harcourts didn’t give up. The company got further information from ASB that no payments had been made and at a final hearing in December 2021, the adjudicator reversed their decision and an order of $3150 was made.
In July 2022, Scott successfully applied for a Heaphy Terrace property through Me & My House Property Management, again by falsifying her driver’s licence, for $560 per week.
Christine Joy Scott, outside the Hamilton District Court today after sentencing, defrauded four different property rental companies of more than $30,000 in unpaid rent. Photo / Belinda Feek
Again she faced a series of Tenancy Tribunal hearings, producing more falsified bank statements and denials of missing rent payments.
She again won the hearing, but the company complained to the police, who sought a production order from Kiwibank which confirmed the payments were never made.
Unfortunately, by the time she left the property, on December 7, 2022, she owed $9214.50 in rent.
While Scott, who was working as a learning assistant at a local primary school, was battling that tenancy hearing, she applied for another property on Ascot Rd, Chartwell, through Lodge City Rentals.
However, the eagle-eyed employee reviewing her documentation was suspicious of the paperwork and upon closer inspection noticed the background and lettering of her driver’s licence had been altered.
When eventually questioned by police in March 2023, she said, “Sounds like someone has been using my name for something.”
While on bail she did it all over again – this time for a property in Rototuna North through PC Property Management, and again altered her driver’s licence.
She got the house on August 1, 2023, for $700 per week but between then and January 10 last year missed several rent payments.
Scott denied missing payments and was so convincing that the company opened its own Kiwibank account for her to pay rent into. She didn’t pay anything.
Then, on January 21 last year, she successfully applied for a property on Holford Place, Hamilton, through McQuire’s Property Ltd, using her same M.O.
But by March 1, she was $1700 behind in rent. The company did not receive any money.
When questioned again by police she denied altering any documents.
‘She’s started paying the money back'
Scott’s counsel, Kane Bidois, was tasked with convincing Judge Marshall to keep his client out of jail, despite her getting a sentence indication of home detention from her first set of offending.
He said Scott was remorseful and had begun making “constant” reparation payments in 2023 and was continuing.
Police were not seeking reparation for any of the payments because that would be sorted in the civil court.
Another reason to keep her out of jail was the fact she was still employed which would enable her to keep up with her reparation payments.
“That’s her taking responsibility for her offending,” Bidois said, while also asking for credit for previous good character.
Judge Marshall said the “real sting” in her offending was misleading the Tenancy Tribunal, which Bidois acknowledged bordered on perverting the course of justice.
Bidois said his client would have gone to restorative justice with the victims but it was declined.
‘Quite unusual offending for someone of your age and stage’
“The offending itself is unusual and . . . quite puzzling for a person at your age and stage in life, Ms Scott,” the judge told her.
“Up until this offending, which is by no means usual, and it’s repeat offending of a nature that you must have known you’d be caught out in the end.
“It escapes me.”
Scott’s offending had also put the property management companies through a “considerable amount of angst and inconvenience and the owners of properties were considerably out of pocket”.
