$50k Covid scam earns detention

A methamphetamine addiction, stoked by a gambling problem, drove a Taranaki man’s decision to scam $50,000 off the Government’s Covid-19 wage subsidy scheme.

Between March and September 2020, Logan James Cochrane was getting a benefit, but pretended to be a business owner and dishonestly filed 34 claims to the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) to get a series of wage subsidy payments.

The taxpayer-funded programme was designed to financially support businesses and workers through the lockdown period.

Ten fake claims were successful, netting Cochrane $50,378, which he frittered away within days of the sums landing in his bank account.

At his sentencing yesterday, the Hāwera District Court heard how Cochrane had been smoking P heavily at the time of the offending and gambling online.

Judge Tony Greig said the once-successful businessman had also suffered a serious head injury in 2015, which saw him start to self-medicate and spiral back into offending after being crime-free for six years.

Cochrane previously pleaded guilty to two charges of dishonestly using a document, one of which was representative.

Along with the successful applications, Cochrane filed 24 fraudulent ones that did not get approved. If they had been, it would have represented a total of about $108,000.

Some applications Cochrane made listed him as a sole trader, while he referred to himself as a business owner in others, naming himself, friends and associates as employees.

In his applications, Cochrane used the tax details of a Taranaki business without its knowledge or permission. Judge Greig suppressed the name of the company.

Cochrane’s scam was eventually rumbled in February 2021, after MSD launched an investigation.

At his sentencing hearing, the court heard how Cochrane had self-referred for residential treatment and was now motivated to steer clear of drugs.

Prosecutor Rebekah Hicklin, who appeared on behalf of MSD, said there were no specific instructions about reparation, but there would have been consideration of a discount off Cochrane’s sentence if he had voluntarily paid back the money.

The court heard how the defendant could afford to pay $50 a week towards the outstanding reparation, and that he intended to get $14,000 out of his KiwiSaver account to put towards the debt, which would effectively empty it.

After taking into account Cochrane’s guilty pleas, addiction issues and offer to pay a lump sum to MSD, Judge Greig imposed a six-month term of home detention.

The court heard how the defendant was already serving a home detention sentence for drug and dishonesty crimes, so the term connected to the Covid19 scam will not start until December this year.