January 31, 2013

Claims totalling $1.5m put at risk by frauds

By David Clarkson

A property developer has endangered her earthquake damage claims of $1.5 million because she made fraudulent claims totalling about $30,000.

The woman, Krishna Rani Saha, aged 56, has repaid losses of $13,562 from her offending, but the Crown says her fraudulent claims listed in the indictment totalled $30,000. Not all of it was paid out.

EQC investigators in the Christchurch District Court at her sentencing put the total figure for all her fraudulent claims at about $40,000.

The woman was sentenced to six months of home detention.

Saha now had damaged and uninsured properties, and civil claims may be required to get the remaining legitimate insurance pay-outs, said defence counsel Andrew Riches.

She had provided accommodation to people in need, or those who had difficulties, at the 10 properties she rented out.

?She is mortified that her life?s work has effectively been ruined by these fraudulent actions,? he told Judge Gary MacAskill. The public interest in the case had affected her reputation, and cost her friends.

Judge MacAskill refused to accept a personal cheque as a reparation payment and insisted that a bank cheque be provided before sentencing went ahead.

Saha, who was originally charged under the name Hazard, went to leave the dock at the sentencing to write the cheque for $13,562, but the judge stopped her.

?A cheque won?t do,? said Christchurch District Court Judge Gary MacAskill. He needed to be sure that the payment had been made before he would allow any reduction in her sentence for the repayment.

?I am not going to be caught by that. I have been told by a Queen?s Counsel (in another case) that reparation will be paid and it wasn?t, and I have given that accused credit,? he said.

?I appreciate it?s an inconvenience,? said the judge. ?But this money would have to be paid in a way that gives me security that it could not be undone.?

Mr Riches said he had advised her not to make her payment until the amount had been finalised. Because of the judge?s comments, he asked for the case to be delayed about an hour so that a bank cheque could be arranged.

Saha had admitted 18 charges relating to false insurance claims for earthquake damage. They include charges of forgery, obtaining by deception, altering a document, dishonestly using a document, and making a false declaration. The offending involved false claims for repairs, or payments for loss of rent.

When the court resumed, Mr Riches provided the bank cheque for the outstanding losses.

In this case, the fraud had occurred in a situation where Hazard was making claims on her 10 properties totalling about $1.5 million when driveway damage was included.

Her remaining claims were now looking doubtful because the insurance companies were ?not her best friends right now?, he said.

Crown prosecutor Nicola Robson said she accepted the amount involved placed the case at the lower end of the range for this type of fraud, and meant that home or community detention could be considered.

Judge MacAskill said EQC was dealing with serious burdens as a result of claims arising from the Christchurch earthquakes. Saha?s actions were ?calculated fraud? and rejected her assertion that the offending arose from her naivety, stress, and her disorganised record keeping.

The EQC told the court that Saha?s fraudulent claims undermined the trust between the organisation and its customers.