Developer jailed for defrauding IRD

Auckland property developer Gavin Richard Harris was yesterday jailed for 2 1/2 years for defrauding the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) of more than $450,000.

Harris pleaded guilty in the Auckland District Court to one representative charge of fraud after an extensive tax investigation of his purported property development business, the IRD said.

The investigation showed that Harris, 47, filed GST return forms based on a series of fictitious transactions which had no substance and were executed solely for the purpose of obtaining GST refunds.

Harris had been declared bankrupt in May 2003 and was also prohibited from being a company director until 2009.

IRD spokeswoman Loraine Elliott said it was a case of deliberate fraud that clearly involved a high level of systematic deception, acknowledged by Harris' lawyer.

She said the sentence "gives a strong message to those who deliberately attempt to defraud the Revenue".

"And it shows the consequences of being found out."

- NZPA