17 November 2015
Tax agent on fraud charges

A man facing 18 Crimes Act charges laid by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has appeared in the Manukau District Court today.

Michael Robert McDonald (40) faces four charges of theft by person in a special relationship, 13 charges of dishonestly using a document and one charge of false accounting.

Mr McDonald had been a registered tax agent since 2002. In that role he filed GST, PAYE and income tax returns on behalf of clients and their related entities.

Between 2007 and 2013, it is alleged that Mr McDonald received money from some of his clients for the purposes of paying tax but failed to forward the money to the Inland Revenue Department. He also allegedly filed approximately 250 false GST and income tax returns in order to receive money from Inland Revenue or to retain client funds that he was not entitled to. The SFO has also charged Mr McDonald for allegedly making false entries in one of his client’s financial statements in order to conceal his offending.

SFO Director, Julie Read said, “The misuse of money entrusted to professional advisers breaches professional standards and undermines the confidence of the community. New Zealanders need to rely on experts when dealing with complex financial matters and it is critical that such professionals demonstrate that they are worthy of the trust placed in them.”

The SFO acknowledges the assistance of Inland Revenue in the investigation of Mr McDonald.

Mr McDonald was remanded on bail without plea and his next appearance is set down for 11 December 2015.

ENDS

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