Saul Roberts received secret cash payments on 90 occasions, totaling more than $200,000. Photo / Michael Craig
Saul Roberts received secret cash payments on 90 occasions, totaling more than $200,000. Photo / Michael Craig
An Auckland man has been sentenced to home detention for defrauding a government-funded trust that helps people with intellectual disabilities.
Saul Brendon Roberts faced five charges over 90 secret cash payments, totalling $203,000 and involving two organisations, in breach of the Secret Commissions Act.
He was due to go totrial in the High Court at Auckland last month but changed his plea to guilty in January. His identity was initially suppressed by Justice Mark Woolford at co-offender Atish Narayan's sentencing last October.
Narayan was also expected to testify against Roberts, after they were charged in January last year.
Roberts was the former assets manager for Te Roopu Taurima O Manukau Trust (Te Roopu) and a trustee and employee of Te Kawerau Iwi Tribal Authority (Te Kawerau).
Te Roopu is a registered charity and public healthcare provider for people with high-needs intellectual disabilities, and Te Kawerau was set up to settle Treaty claims.
Roberts was responsible for the maintenance of Te Roopu trust's vehicle fleet and properties.
HIs offending began when he was a trustee at Te Kawerau in 2009.
He received a secret payment of about $40,000 in return for withdrawing public submissions he had lodged on behalf of Te Kawerau in opposition to a proposed change to a district plan.
He was also a member of Makaurau Marae and was chairman of the environment committee for each organisation.
The company that made the payment was unaware that Roberts was acting without the knowledge and consent of his employer, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said.
In May 2012, Roberts met part-time building contractor Peter Horvath and offered him property maintenance and repair work on behalf of Te Roopu.
Roberts told Horvath he could do the trust's building work if Horvath agreed to pay him 10 per cent of all invoices in cash, to which Horvath agreed.
No one at the trust was aware of the agreement, or any of the corrupt arrangements Roberts made.
Over two years the trust paid Horvath more than $366,000 for building repairs and maintenance work. About $55,000 was given to Roberts.
In June 2012, Roberts offered Kevin Lenaghan of JFK Imports the job of buying vehicles for the trust in return for cash payments.
Over five months, Lenaghan bought 14 cars for the trust at a cost of $348,160.
Saul Roberts walking into the dock at the beginning of his sentencing today. Photo / Michael Craig
In January 2013, Roberts teamed up with Narayan and received secret payments for contracting work to certain suppliers of Te Roopu, including businesses owned by Narayan.
Roberts, who was responsible for the trust's vehicles, approached Narayan, the owner of Pit Stop Otahuhu, asking to have the car fleet repaired at the South Auckland garage.
However, between January 22, 2013, and April 24, 2014, Narayan began invoicing the trust for false jobs and withdrawing a cash kickback to give to Roberts.
The trust paid Narayan $679,844, and Narayan withdrew $256,000 in cash and gave up to 20 per cent to Roberts.
The pair set up a similar scam under the company ART Automotive Limited in Hamilton.
In total, suppliers to Te Roopu paid kickbacks to Roberts to secure about $1.5 million of the trust's business.
Justice Woolford sentenced Roberts to eight months' home detention and ordered him to pay reparation of $164,929 to Te Roopu. However, no repayment order was made for Te Kawerau.
In a victim impact statement from Te Roopu, the trust said Roberts' offending had brought "shame and embarrassment to the iwi and marae".
The trust said it did not want to see Roberts go to prison and wanted him to put his obvious intelligence and entrepreneurial skills to good use.
Narayan was sentenced to six months' home detention for two counts of corruptly giving an agent reward or inducements and one charge of obtaining by deception.
SFO director Julie Read said in a statement after Roberts' sentencing: "This type of corruption undermines these kinds of trusts which, is a matter of public concern. The role of the SFO is to prosecute such matters on behalf of New Zealanders in order to keep organisations free from fraud and corruption."
