19 separate identities and $82,000 stolen: Man jailed for part in Covid relief fraud

An Upper Hutt man has been jailed for nearly four years after fraudulently receiving more than $82,000 in Covid support. Shane Douglas McNally was sentenced on November 8 after pleading guilty to 68 fraud related charges from the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) and police. Twenty-one of those charges were from the IRD and involved Small Business Cashflow Scheme (SBCS) fraud.

In 2020, McNally and his co-accused, Brendon Blair McBride, made 21 SBCS applications under 19 separate identities. Each application was for $11,800 and confirmed they met the scheme’s criteria, including that they had a viable business and had experienced a decline of revenue of more than 30%..