Forger sentencing delayed

The sentencing for the engineer whose building sign-off forgeries cast a shadow over more than a thousand properties across New Zealand was delayed so more district councils could submit victim impact statements.

Hall had pleaded guilty to 112 representative charges of forgery at Taupō District Court back in December and was set to be sentenced at Rotorua District Court on March 22.

However that sentencing has been pushed back to May 10.

A Rotorua District Court registrar said “Crown counsel was informed that representatives of a number of district councils are in the process of preparing victim impact statement, and also, some of the affected district councils wish to attend the sentencing and present their victim impact statements to the Court”.

“So, they requested an adjournment. This was then adjourned by consent and also, the duration of the Sentencing was increased.”

The Waikato Times first broke news of the sign-off scandal back in June, 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.

Hall - the director of Kodiak Consulting Limited - had been accused of using the identities of more qualified colleagues to sign off building consent documents. Engineering New Zealand said in a statement that it estimates more than 1000 homes were affected and that’s “alarming in its magnitude”.

According to the police summary of facts, Hall invoiced a total of $2,422,511 across all the projects concerned.

Of that, he’s estimated to have gained $558,511 by not using - or paying - the misrepresented Chartered Professional Engineer, the summary said.

“As the misrepresented CPENG individuals are not paid for the alleged work supplied by the defendant, the total amount paid by the defendant’s clients are retained by him, this act alone results in a pecuniary advantage.”

The Waikato Times also spoke to one of Hall’s victims, who wished to remain anonymous, who said they now face a delayed retirement and a bill of $20,000 “minimum”.

They said they first became aware of the issue in September, when their council got in touch.

They said they were told their property was among those “this so-called engineer signed off”.

“We’re pretty disappointed and upset, in fact I’m quite angry.”

They said a relative, a builder, told them it would cost a minimum of $20,000 to have the faults put right.

A certified Master Builder would be required, they said, so “we’re going to be paying top dollar”.

In explanation to the police, Hall “stated he submitted the forged documents due to the pressure of the work and time frames and his desire to please people and wanting to help,” the summary said.

He also told police he “felt terrible for the offending”.

Hall’s offending spanned from November 2017 to May 2023, and included the forgery of 1927 documents.