20 Jul 2012

Prison inevitable for $2.9m IRD fraudsters - Crown

6:01 pm on 20 July 2012

The Crown says prison terms are inevitable for two Wellington accountants found guilty of defrauding Inland Revenue of $2.9 million.

Following a six-week trial in the High Court at Wellington, Justice Kos on Friday found Barrie Skinner and David Rowley guilty of the majority of charges they faced.

Barrie Skinner was found guilty of 80 charges of dishonestly using documents and David Rowley guilty of 75 of those counts.

They were also convicted of providing false information to the IRD and trying to pervert the course of justice.

Skinner was acquitted on nine charges and Rowley on 14.

The charges arose from a scheme the pair ran in which they wrote sham invoices for transactions which had never occurred, to create tax deductions and credits for their clients.

The men's lawyer sought bail but the Crown said despite having surrendered their passports they remained a flight risk.

Justice Kos remanded them in custody for sentencing on 17 August but indicated he would hear a bail application if it was sought.