Indian couple defrauded New Zealand’s Ministry of Children; charged by court

New Delhi (India) May 20: Between 2021 and 2022, Neha Sharma and her husband Amandeep Sharma filed a guilty plea to charges related to a fraud scheme that targeted Oranga Tamariki, the Ministry for Children in New Zealand.

A couple of Indian origin stole $2 million from the Ministry of Children in New Zealand and transferred funds to foreign bank accounts before taking a one-way business class flight back to India.

According to the Serious Fraud Office, which led the investigation of the case stated,“Offending of this kind erodes public confidence and harms the integrity of New Zealand’s public institutions and our reputation as a safe place to invest. It’s critical we take action to disrupt and deter such behaviour.”

Neha Sharma made 326 invoices between July 2021 and October 2022, which led to 103 payments to Divine Connection Ltd. totalling more than NZ$2.1 million.

She approved false invoices by misusing the agency's internal processes, forging documents, and creating fake references. A large amount of the cash went into household electronics and other personal needs.

Neha got a friend from Oranga Tamariki's call centre to send contracts to Divine Connection and falsely presented Amandeep as an independent contractor to continue the scam.

The fraud was not discovered for more than a year until the invoices' inconsistencies were found in late 2022. A member of the OT facilities team expressed concerns on October 26, 2022, that Sharma was hiring Divine Connection, which was not usual.

They took a Singapore Airlines (SQ) business class flight to Chennai (MAA) after the fraud was found out.

Neha Sharma filed a guilty plea for various offences, including money laundering, forgery, and deception.

She is given a three-year prison sentence and is kept in the mothers' and babies' ward. Amandeep Sharma, who will be sentenced in June, has also admitted his guilt.

The CEO of Oranga Tamariki, Andrew Bridgman, called it a "serious breach of public trust" and confirmed that the organisation had strengthened its internal controls since the fraud.

Aadrika Tayal