NZ Power company worker charged with $2 million fraud
September 2, 2014 | Fraud
NZX-listed Mighty River Power has been caught up in an alleged $2 million employee husband-and-wife fraud.
The Serious Fraud Office has today laid four charges against Paul Kenneth Rose and two against Jane Clare Rose for obtaining by deception.
Paul Rose worked at MRP's Penrose gas-fired power station as an electrical engineer until December 2012 and it was part of his role to identify what equipment was required to be ordered or services provided for that plant, the SFO said today.
Rose, or companies under his control, allegedly issued invoices of approximately $2 million to MRP for "goods those companies sometimes didn't provide or services that were instead performed by Mr Rose himself or others", the SFO said.
The SFO said Jane Rose was also involved for some time in the alleged offending, which according to the agency took place between June 2005 and December 2012.
A SFO spokeswoman said the Roses, both 42, were husband and wife - at least at the time of alleged offending.
The alleged offending came to light following a investigation by MRP, which referred the matter to the police. It was subsequently referred to the SFO, which began in an investigation in April 2013.
"This investigation resulted from observations and internal checks at Mighty River Power. The company's actions in referring this matter to the Police and the active support for the SFO's investigation means that we are now in a position to lay charges and prosecute the people involved, " SFO director Julie Read said today.
The defendants will next appear on September 30.
Corporate fraud can be difficult to prevent and to catch. By creating effective policies, a system of checks and balances and physical security, a company may limit the extent to which fraud can take place.
Our national and global reach is particularly significant in forensic, compliance and white collar crime matters where many of our clients are increasingly affected by corruption and by international conventions with wide application (for example, the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Officials and the United Nations Convention against Corruption).
In recent years there has been a global shift in focus towards the enforcement of anti-corruption legislation against businesses and company representatives. This shift in focus, coupled with the increasingly aggressive enforcement of anti-corruption legislation and the accompanying significant fines and penalties highlights the need for specialised forensic, compliance and white collar crime services.
Our team members have considerable experience in fraud matters. The senior management are Certified Fraud Examiners.
Members of our firm are regular contributors to media publications and members of our team are also regular speakers at conferences and seminars and have occasionally been guest speakers on radio and television on white collar crime related matters.
The team is comprised of highly qualified and experienced fraud investigators. Where required, multi-disciplinary teams of specialists including forensic auditors, computer forensic specialists and investigators exercise their skills under the direction of our staff.
The Investigators Investigations has the expertise and capacity to provide full-service forensic services. The practice area represents both private and public sector clients and focuses on clients who are the victims of white collar crime, or whose mandates include the investigation of white collar crime.
The team also advises corporate clients who become involved in investigations and need expert guidance. Our main focus areas include:
- Investigation
- Compliance
- Fraud prevention
- Fraud risk analysis and due diligence
- Commercial recoveries
- Vetting and asset tracing
- Advisory work
- Public procurement fraud
- Training
CONTACT
Article source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11317886
