An Internal
Affairs investigation uncovered a pokie machine rort that resulted in a
significant loss of grant funding going to the community. The investigation revealed that numerous
grant applications to gaming machine societies from Counties Manukau Bowls
(CMB), an umbrella organisation for South Auckland bowling clubs, were
fraudulent.
From late 2006
to September 2009 Counties Manukau Bowls employed Noel Henry Gibbons, 79, of
Manurewa, to apply for gaming machine grants.
Mr Gibbons
implemented a scheme whereby constituent clubs or CMB itself would invest
indirectly in purchasing pubs where pokie machines operated – so that in turn
those clubs could benefit from grants of pokie machine proceeds.
Mr Gibbons also
applied for grants from gaming machine societies for “bowling green
maintenance” - but some of the money was used illegally to repay loans for the
purchase of pubs. This money should have
been distributed to local community purposes as grants. Paying off loans is a commercial and illegal
use of funding generated from pokie machines.
Mr Gibbons
fabricated quotes and invoices from “green keeping contractors” to support
grant applications and the provision of services. None of those named in the
invoices as billing for a service knew anything of the work they were supposed
to have done.
He was sentenced
in the Manukau District Court today to six months’ community detention for
obtaining $605,550 by deception and of using forged documents.
Judge Charles
Blackie said Gibbons’ offending was a “very elaborate” scam and an “unlawful
scheme”. The defendant knew he acted dishonestly each time he made a false
application and this was at the expense of the community.
Judge Blackie
emphasised the need to hold the defendant accountable and responsible, to deter
others who might be inclined to "rip off" the system, and to provide
for the community's interests as the victims of this offending. He adopted a starting point of two years six months'
imprisonment but imposed a lenient sentence because of Gibbons’ guilty
plea, advanced age and poor health.
Maarten Quivooy,
Internal Affairs’ General Manager of Regulatory and Compliance Operations said
organisations cannot expect that buying into pokie machine venues will ensure
favourable treatment for grant applications.
“It’s illegal and
the Department works to ensure that pokie money, which belongs to the
community, is protected,” he said. “We want to ensure that community groups
have fair access to gambling-generated funds and will take action over any
attempts to capture funding flows that are detected.
“We are very
pleased that our investigation has led to Mr Gibbons being held accountable for
fraud, and for defrauding his community.
A clear message to the gambling sector is this: where we come across
deliberate and wilful attempts to take community funding we will take strong
and decisive action to hold people accountable”.
