Whanganui and Rangitīkei councils find forgery-accused engineering technologist involved in handful of projects

Just one building in Whanganui has been affected.

A man who allegedly forged the signatures of qualified engineers had involvement in just one Whanganui property and a handful in Rangitīkei, councils say.

Jonathan Beau Hall, the director of Kodiak Consulting Ltd, allegedly used others’ identities and credentials without their permission to sign off more than 1000 buildings around New Zealand, according to Engineering New Zealand, of which Hall is a member.

Up to 40 local authorities could be affected and a police investigation is under way. No charges have been laid.

Whanganui District Council chief executive David Langford said one building constructed “a while ago” had been impacted.

“We’ve had our building consent team double-check everything, and they confirmed that there are no issues,” he said.

“We just have to double-check everything with Engineering New Zealand before a complete sign-off.

“Luckily, it looks like we won’t be affected. It’s definitely a problem our community didn’t need.”

Hall was involved in around 40 properties in Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty and 21 in Rotorua.

In June, Auckland Council was urgently reviewing a list of 13 building projects where structural designs and specifications were solely handled by Hall, followed by 29 which were partially signed off by him.

Rangitīkei Mayor Andy Watson said there was a handful of cases - under five - in his district.

A report was due at the council in the near future.

“We are not quite sure yet of the significance of these cases,” Watson said.

“I’m hopeful it’s not a huge problem, because if it impacts on somebody’s home, it’s incredibly concerning.

“These things end up in the courts, and the process is quite slow.”

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is also investigating.

Its national manager of building system assurance, Simon Thomas, said no charges had been laid and it was working with police, local authorities and Engineering New Zealand.

Mike Tweed is an assistant news director and multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.