A woman has been sentenced to three months’ community detention for fraudulently claiming about $7000 in Covid-19 wage subsidies.

Yasmin Rose Patten appeared for sentencing in the Tauranga District Court on August 29, 2023, having admitted one charge of dishonestly using a document in connection with the Covid-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme.

On April 6, 2020, Patten submitted a fraudulent wage subsidy application claiming she was working as a sole trader when she was not, says a statement from the Ministry of Social Development.

The application was successful and she was paid $7029.60.

After receiving the funds, Patten made several high-value purchases, including on a $3000 money card from The Warehouse and $2000 spent at a shopping centre in Tauranga, says a spokesperson for the minsitry.

During sentencing, Judge Christina Cook said Patten needed to be held accountable for her offending given the breach of trust involved.

Patten was sentenced to three months’ community detention, six months’ supervision and ordered to pay $7,029.60 reparation.

More wage subsidy cases in the courts can be found here

More information on MSD’s Wage Subsidy Integrity and Fraud Programme can be found here