Taupō engineer Jon Hall jailed for ‘huge’ nationwide building forgery

Jon Hall was sentenced in the Rotorua District Court to four years and six months. Photo / Andrew Warner

For nearly six years, Jon Hall fraudulently signed more than 1900 documents purporting to be a more qualified engineer than what he was. Using profits from his work, he donated significant sums to his Taupō-based church. But his actions had “catastrophic” consequences for hundreds of people throughout New Zealand. Today he appeared in the Rotorua District Court to face his victims and be sentenced. Kelly Makiha reports.

Word quickly spread that Jonathan Beau Hall was the man to go to for a quick and cheap engineering report if you were building a house.

He pumped out the work, making about $2.4 million for his sole-charged Taupō-based company over six years.

But the 47-year-old was committing fraud. He would sign the names of more qualified colleagues, making out his work had been certified.

The fact it wasn’t, meant there were hundreds of buildings throughout 39 district councils in New Zealand that were given sign-off when they weren’t legally compliant.

It’s being described as potentially the biggest building industry scam in New Zealand.

Now Hall, known as Jon Hall, has been sentenced to four years and six months imprisonment after pleading guilty to 112 charges of forgery. Forty-seven of those charges were representative charges, meaning the offending happened more than once.

In sentencing Hall, Judge Greg Hollister-Jones said 946 properties were impacted. He estimated the damage caused would be in the millions of dollars.

“The scale of your offending is huge... It is the biggest scale of forgery by a professional person that I am aware of.”

He said all 946 properties would have had to have a notification about the questionable engineering added to the properties’ Land Information Memorandum (Lim) reports.

“Getting an adverse land information report is a seriously stressful event.”

He said there would be serious insurance implications as the properties didn’t have a valid certificate of compliance.

Quoting from pre-sentence reports, Judge Hollister-Jones said Hall was “introverted and shy”.

He charged about a third of what he should for the reports - between $1600 to $2500 when others charged about $8000.

Hall estimated he benefited financially by more than $550,000.

Judge Hollister-Jones said Hall donated about $300,000 to charities, including about $275,000 to his church, Abundant Church in Taupō.

“You became entrapped to gain inter-personal reward to please clients.”

Jon Hall of Kodiak Consulting Ltd pleaded guilty to multiple serious fraud charges. Photo / Kodiak Consulting

The offending spanned 2017 to 2023 and saw 1927 reports fraudulently signed by Hall for mainly residential properties in New Zealand through his company, Kodiak Consulting Ltd.

More than half of the offending involved properties in the Taupo area, but other areas included Tauranga, Ōpōtiki, Rotorua and Auckland.

Judge Hollister-Jones said Hall was a licenced chartered member technologist of Engineering New Zealand. The documents he signed needed a chartered professional engineer, deemed a licensed building practitioner and legally protected under the Building Act.

If a document was signed by them, building consent authorities, such as councils, have reasonable grounds to believe the work complies with the building code and a consent and Code of Compliance can be issued.

The forgery was picked up after a Rotorua Lakes Council staff member contacted a certified engineer, whose signature had been forged, to discuss the project.

The engineer had no recollection of the project. The signature on the certified document was found to not bear any resemblance to the engineer’s.

“That is how your forgeries were uncovered.”

Judge Hollister-Jones said Wellington police were contacted and 39 councils had to do a “complete review” of all of his projects. Some were found to be to be completed to a satisfactory standard while others required a complete redesign.

What the Crown says

Crown prosecutor Amanda Gordon told Judge Hollister-Jones Hall was qualified to do some of the work but not all.

He could do drawings, for example, but needed to get those drawings certified by a qualified engineer.

Gordon said Hall started off forging the documents and went on to get them certified but eventually he stopped getting them certified. He would forge the signature of the engineer he previously used instead.

When the first qualified engineer he originally used retired, Hall sought out someone else whom he eventually started forging the signature of.

Gordon told Judge Hollister-Jones there was no other case of similar magnitude the Crown could find to compare case law.

She said there was continued risk to public safety as there could be people unaware they were living in homes that did not meet the required building standards.

Gordon said there was significant impact on the reputations of the two engineers whose signatures were forged, mentioning one had left New Zealand because of the “constant barrage” he was getting from victims.

She said he had provided a victim impact statement to the court, saying the loss to him personally had been more than $300,000.

What the defence says

Defence lawyer Matthew Ward-Johnson noted Hall’s parents, uncle and three friends, including his church pastor, supported him in court.

Ward-Johnson said his client accepted a term of imprisonment was warranted but if the judge reached a sentence of two years or less, home detention should be considered.

He said Hall was remorseful, offered to pay $85,000 in reparation and was at a low risk, or in his words “no risk”, of reoffending.

Ward-Johnson said Hall didn’t gain financially from his offending and in fact donated a majority to charity - including $275,000 to his church.

He said his client’s offer of reparation was his last remaining money.

How the victims were impacted

Taupō District Council building manager Dean Southey reads a victim impact statement at the sentencing of Jon Hall. Photo / Andrew Warner

Taupō District Council’s building manager Dean Southey said 650 buildings in its area were impacted. The additional work had cost ratepayers at least $500,000 in additional remedial work.

He said councils relied on the integrity and professionalism of certified engineers and impacts had been seen for councils throughout New Zealand, building owners and other professional engineers.

Southey said stop work orders had to be put on many homes, resulting in impacts for contractors, delays and costly remedial work.

He said the total impact was not yet known as more substandard work could come to light in future years.

Southey said he had spent many hours with upset property owners, including elderly home owners, who feared the costs involved.

He said there was great stress as notifications needed to be put on properties’ Lim reports warning they were related to fraudulent engineering, which could significant impact property prices and their abilities to sell their homes.

Property owner Martin Atkins reads his victim impact statement. Photo / Andrew Warner

One of the victims, Martin Atkins, addressed the court saying he had to pay at least $40,000 more to engage professionals to fix his work. It caused mental and emotional harm, stress and anxiety.

He urged Judge Hollister-Jones to impose a sentence of imprisonment, saying his offending had resulted in “catastrophic consequences”.

Property owner Mike Timmer reads his victim impact statement at the sentencing of fraudulent engineer Jon Hall in the Rotorua District Court. Photo / Andrew Warner

Taupō man Mike Timmer said Hall’s crimes impacted the home they were building.

He said he was retired and was worried if his life savings would go on the refix.

The refix cost him $32,000 but the stress effects were large.

Judge Hollister-Jones read from a victim impact statement of a 92-year-old man, who said he and his wife suffered stress because they were unable to get insurance.

Judge Hollister-Jones said a 65-year-old widow wrote in her victim impact statement she had to redo the entire eastern side of her home, costing $40,000.

She said in her statement she suffered extreme stress, was unable to sleep and was constantly worried.

Engineering New Zealand responds

In a media statement provided to the Rotorua Daily Post, Engineering New Zealand Te Ao Rangahau said it welcomed the sentencing of Hall.

Chief executive Dr Richard Templer said the title of chartered professional engineer was a protected title reserved for engineers whose competency had been assessed and Hall didn’t have the same level of skill and qualification.

Templer said Hall’s actions cast doubt on the robustness of people’s homes.

“The situation has created considerable stress for property owners and a huge burden for many local councils,” Templer said.

Templer, who also provided a victim impact statement to the court, said his statement said the range of concerns was likely “extensive, varying from potentially minor or administrative concerns to more serious concerns such as the robustness of a building’s foundations”.

He said in the statement, identifying the unique ramifications on each property would continue to occupy many councils and engineers for some time yet, even before considering remediation.

Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.