Former IRD tax agent gets home detention for decade-long fraud

Chafic Georges was sentenced to 12 months home detention for sustained tax fraud.

A former Inland Revenue tax agent has received the maximum length of home detention possible for sustained tax fraud after more than a decade of cheating the system.

Chafic Georges, 71, a former Inland Revenue tax agent, was sentenced to 12 months home detention in the Manukau District Court after appearing on 19 tax fraud charges.

Following a risk review of Georges' tax affairs, an Inland Revenue investigation found he and his family accumulated wealth not accounted for in his income tax returns.

While operating as a registered tax agent and sole trader from October 2006 to January 2018, Georges committed sustained tax fraud. This was after his time working for Inland Revenue.

This included filing false personal tax returns and false income tax and GST returns for third parties. Those refunds were paid to bank accounts controlled by Georges for his personal use.

According to the findings, the total amount Georges received in relation to his personal income tax liability and Working for Families Tax Credits (WfFTC) payments was roughly $208,000.

The total GST, income tax and WfFTC for third parties was just over $11,000.

The court heard there were very serious aggravating features in this case such as Georges’ previous employment with Inland Revenue, his breach of trust as a tax agent, the extreme length of time of the offending, and continuing to offend even in the face of investigation.

The judge started with a sentence of 40 months imprisonment for Georges, however, this was reduced by 25% for a guilty plea and another 15% for his health, age and offer of reparation.

This brought Georges' possible sentence down to 24 months in prison and meant home detention could be considered.

The judge believed Georges was unlikely to re-offend and that a final sentence of 12 months home detention was appropriate given his age and health issues.

Alongside the sentence of home detention, Georges was ordered to pay full reparation.

Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business and retail.