Police confirm recovery probe into engineering forger’s cash
The Police Asset Recovery Unit has been asked to investigate whether any of the ill-gotten gains accumulated by engineering forger Jonathan Hall can be recovered.
Hall, 47, was sentenced to four years and six months in prison last Friday at Rotorua District Court after earlier pleading guilty to 112 counts of fraud.
The Waikato Times first broke news of the sign-off scandal in June last year, reporting hundreds of homes in Waikato, Bay of Plenty and the central North Island had been caught up in an investigation into whether their engineering designs were signed off inappropriately.
At the sentencing, Crown prosecutor Amanda Gordon revealed that while Hall pocketed just over $500,000 from his offending, he donated $300,000 to charities. Among the beneficiaries was Hall’s Church, which got $270,000.
When police were asked whether further action would be taken in relation to the cash, an unnamed officer in charge said: “A referral has been made to the Asset Recovery Unit to assess if action can be taken on the money donated”.
Hall, the director of Kodiak Consulting Limited, had been using the identities of more qualified colleagues to sign off building consent documents. Engineering New Zealand had estimated more than 1000 homes were affected, saying his offending was “alarming in its magnitude”.
It was also revealed that the bulk of Hall’s offending related to properties in the Taupō district, with mayor David Trewavas saying that Hall’s sentencing “will come as little comfort for the many building owners in the district affected by his fraudulent activities”.
Trewavas said that while Hall’s sentencing marked the end of the court proceedings, “the problems Mr Hall created are still a reality for plenty of building owners”.
In total, some 650 building consents issued by Taupō District Council, which relied on producer statements and certificates of design forged by Hall, were found to have been affected.
Trewavas said the council had to establish a special team to support property owners and engage a chartered professional engineer to assess every building linked to Hall – a process that took months. “We know this has been a stressful time for those affected and we continue to support people as far as we’re able.
“Mr Hall’s actions have had a huge impact on many people and will continue to do so for quite some time to come.”
Hall’s offending was discovered after Rotorua Lakes Council contacted a CPEng [Chartered Professional Engineer] to discuss a project.
“Having no recollection of what Rotorua Lakes Council was referring to, [the] CPEng asked them to forward the submitted documents,” the police summary of facts said.
“[The] CPEng quickly noted the false signature on the documents and immediately alerted Engineering NZ to the forgery.
“Engineering brought the complaint to Wellington Police on May 26.”
In explanation to the police, Hall “stated he submitted the forged documents due to the pressure of the work and timeframes and his desire to please people and wanting to help”, the summary said.
“The defendant acknowledges he obtained a monetary advantage from not invoicing the CPEng Engineers, but stated it wasn’t huge amounts ... and he had nothing to show for it.”