Nation’s largest tax fraudster jailed
A Gisborne farmer guilty of New Zealand’s biggest tax fraud has been jailed for eight years and six months.
John Bracken submitted false invoices for more than $133 million over four years.
Bracken, 55, ran the scam through his company Bracken Enterprises Ltd, which led to him receiving $17.4m in GST refunds that he was not entitled to.
He was sentenced yesterday by Justice Graham Lang in the High Court at Gisborne.
Crown lawyer Megan Mitchell said the crime called for a high sentence as it was the largest crime of its kind. She said the fraud was ‘‘repetitive and involved a high degree of planning and premeditation’’ and Bracken only stopped offending when he became aware it had been detected.
She said about $12m of property had been restrained and efforts to recover this were under way but were being ‘‘vigorously opposed’’ by Bracken. Some funds had been recovered but there remained $1.1m outstanding that would never be recovered, she said.
Bracken told the court he had always done what his accountants and his bank had asked.
‘‘I really tried hard to get it 100 per cent right . . .. I can put my hand on heart and say that. I don’t consent to sentencing and being kidnapped ... I want to go home to my family. I haven’t done anything wrong,’’ he said.
Justice Lang said Bracken had not presented any evidence to contradict the Crown case, and he rejected Bracken’s assertion that it was a legal entity that had offended, not him, and that he shouldn’t be jailed.
‘‘Sadly the courts are required to sentence people to prison every day of the week. You are no exception to that process.’’
Justice Lang said there were several aggravating features of the offending. ‘‘The New Zealand taxpayer base has suffered an actual loss of $17m from your offending. It was plainly premeditated.’’