The situation
Anonymous letters were sent to two government agencies alleging that a government employee was involved in fraudulent activity. The suspect was a senior manager with control over finance, payroll, human resources and training operations.
Our role
We were asked to investigate and liaise with the employer and legal advisors and ensure the suspect employee was suspended during the investigation. Our initial investigations involved the recovery of deleted computer records and interviews with staff members who provided numerous leads. We uncovered a wealth of information, including evidence that the suspect had:
- Falsely obtained employment with bogus qualifications and a false employment history
- A prior conviction
- Forged documents and falsified accounts
- Misused and stolen employer assets
- Committed credit card application and expenses fraud
- Evaded income tax and conspired to defraud the public revenue (FBT fraud)
- Collected unauthorised increases in salary and bonuses
- Been absent from duty and made claims for work not performed
- Colluded with a contractor to pay for services not performed
We prepared a criminal brief of evidence for the police and gave evidence at the trial of the offender. We also assisted the client’s legal advisors in handling the offender’s dismissal and defeated an ‘unfair dismissal’ claim.
The outcome
The offender was convicted and sentenced to a term of imprisonment.
