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DriverHeaven Addict
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Wellington, New Zealand
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benefit fraudster rakes in 3.2 million
Quote:
Sunday November 5, 2006
It is being labelled the biggest benefit scandal in New Zealand's history - an Auckland man who is accused of pulling in $3.2 million in two-and-a-half years using 120 false identities.
Wayne Thomas Patterson, 47, a former electrician, is now in prison awaiting trial after a raid on his Massey home by police and investigators from the Ministry of Social Development (MSD).
The Herald on Sunday has also visited the house and can reveal a bizarre, hidden life.
Inside the $230-a-week flat with a plain exterior, investigators found the interior of a mansion. Much of it had been rebuilt, and it was filled with designer furnishing.
There were large leather recliners, a top-quality weight training room and a home cinema system with a 12-foot wide screen. There was also a garden with more than $50,000 worth of plants, including rare palms, and pathways leading past marble seats and faux Easter Island heads. A security system guarded the home, with cameras focused to the front and rear of the house, and inside. They all fed images back to one central computer. But the investigators - a mix of police and MSD staff - were looking for more. They believed a large amount of money was hidden somewhere in the home.
Once they began searching, the extent of the scandal began to reveal itself. They found documents to support more than 120 identities in a ceiling cavity, along with a series of driver licences, ATM cards and disguises used to fool Work & Income staff. There were also about 100 keys to post office boxes from Kaitaia to Invercargill - the contact addresses for the multitude of false beneficiaries registered with Work & Income.
Also hidden were a number of New Zealand passports. One found by officials carried the name "Geoffrey Patterson" - yet it had the same face as the man known to neighbours as Graham Johnstone.
The accused man's real name - Wayne Patterson - only emerged when they searched for the identity of the registered owner of the 2002 Nissan Primera parked in the driveway.
The investigators knew what they were looking for. According to sums done by Work & Income, which answers to the MSD, there were at least 120 linked false identities that were receiving cash. In total, those identities were receiving $54,000 a fortnight - more money than the celebrity drug ring kingpin, John Waterworth, 56, was making. He cleared about $38,000 a fortnight.
Throughout the house, small holes have been drilled in the walls at regular intervals. Light fittings have been lifted out to allow the fibre optic camera to peer into the cavity between the two-storey flat's floors. Upstairs, beneath the shower, they began to find the proceeds of what they believe is New Zealand's largest welfare fraud. In a hidden cavity, there was $200,000 in cash, and 12 gold bars weighing a kilogram each, and each worth $31,000. They also found six more smaller gold bars, worth about $600 each. Then they turned to the garden. Neighbour Robyn Lonsdale said the point at which she knew police officers searching the garden found $750,000 in $50 notes was unmistakable. "I just heard the excitement and one of the police was congratulating the others. 'Hooray, I found it!'."
The repercussions are massive and embarrassing for three major government departments. Work & Income - administered by the MSD - is facing questions about how the scale of alleged fraud went unnoticed for so long. The Department of Labour, which administers Internal Affairs, will probe how Patterson had a number of passports while Land Transport will be forced to review - again - its procedures for granting driver licences. The Herald on Sunday has learned that Patterson will be accused of exploiting a hole in Work & Income's system. Investigators believe he began by applying for sickness benefits - then switched to superannuation. The pension is one of the few benefits left which do not face regular reviews. For sickness beneficiaries, regular doctor visits are required. Unemployed people face regular job interviews.
After visiting Mt Eden Prison, Patterson's parents said their son was well, but worried about his tropical fish. "There were tears in his eyes" as he explained there was only enough food in the tank to last a few days.
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Nov 5, 2006, 12:18 AM
