KEY POINTS:
The owner of a group of rest home management companies has been jailed for 21 months for tax evasion involving more than $1 million.
Keran Unka, 54, of Raumati South, north of Wellington, had earlier pleaded guilty in Wellington District Court to eight representative charges of aiding and abetting his eight companies in the misappropriation of trust money.
Unka was sole director of the Village Care group of companies.
The main company, Village Care, provided management services to seven companies operating 10 rest homes in Blenheim, Invercargill, Marlborough, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Wanganui and Wairarapa.
Wellington District Court was told this morning that $1,278,008 in PAYE deductions from about 300 staff members were not passed on to Inland Revenue between May 2001 and May 2003.
Of this amount $913,000 remained unaccounted for. All eight companies had now been liquidated and struck off the Companies Office Register.
Inland Revenue investigators found Unka had instructed office staff which creditors to pay.
On most occasions PAYE deductions were not approved. On the few occasions when they were, the payments were usually made late.
Unka was today given leave to apply for home detention and the sentence start date was deferred for two months by Judge Bruce Davidson.
- NZPA
