Top 10 wrongly paid benefits: $2.14 million

The overall value of fraud debt was more than $30 million, which contributed to the $23 billion of taxpayers' money handed out to beneficiaries. Photo / NZME.

An individual was overpaid $296,420 of taxpayers' money after fraudulently or wrongly claiming for a benefit.

The 10 largest amounts of wrongly acquired benefits - including the largest which was the $296,420 handout - to individuals totalled more than $2.14 million in the year ended June 30, 2014, according to figures provided to the Herald under the Official Information Act.

The overall value of fraud debt was more than $30 million, which contributed to the $23 billion of taxpayers' money handed out to more than one million Kiwis who receive income assistance each year.

In the past year, the Ministry of Social Development completed 4614 fraud investigations and just under half of the people under investigation were found to have obtained the benefit fraudulently or by wrongly claiming for it. The amount of wrongly obtained claims was up 19 per cent on the previous year.

In its official response to the Herald, the Ministry of Social Development said it did not tolerate benefit fraud and had a team of 110 specialist fraud investigators. It was also constantly improving its systems to reduce incidences of benefit fraud, which included better information sharing with other government agencies.

During 2013/14, 868 of the total 893 prosecutions were successfully carried out with the value of fraud debt being chased totalling $30.55 million.

An MSD spokesman said prosecution outcomes and sentencing were determined by the courts.

Among the high-profile cases last year was Balclutha woman Karina Ann McHardy, 51, who was sentenced in August to two years' imprisonment for benefit fraud of more than $130,000.

Opotiki primary school teacher Craig Teddy was struck off the register after being convicted of $107,000 of benefit fraud. Between 2005-2010, Teddy received the money by making false claims about his employment and that he had sole care of his children when he was living with his partner.

Taranaki man Graeme Joseph Bunting, 56, was sentenced in September on 22 charges related to overpayments made to him by the Accident Compensation Corporation.

Bunting produced medical certificates showing he was unfit to work and received $15,324.13, despite working at the time.

In July, a law was introduced to enable the MSD to hold partners of beneficiaries accountable for welfare fraud. Under the new law, beneficiaries and their partners could be investigated and prosecuted for relationship fraud and both were jointly liable for repaying the debt.

The New Zealand Federation of Family Budgeting Services head Raewyn Fox said that only a small minority of people wrongly received the benefit and the majority of people genuinely needed it.

"The people we are seeing are hardworking, honest, trying to do their best. Often [they are] struggling but often have excellent budgeting skills because they are getting by on a small amount of money."