A Dunedin businessman says using glue and white-out pen to alter financial documents was the stupidest thing he has ever done in his life.
Paul Lambert Clarke, 43, appeared for sentencing before Judge Kevin Phillips in the Dunedin District Court on Wednesday.
His lawyer, John Westgate, said the offending had a profound impact on his client, who was most concerned with the potential loss of his business.
It had been 18 months of hell for Clarke, the sole director and shareholder PL Clarke Ltd.
READ MORE:* A white-out pen and glue: How a Dunedin businessman tried to fool Customs* Gisborne farmer convicted of ‘crude but effective’ $17.4 million tax fraud* Dunedin businessman charged with evading GST payments
Westgate said Clarke told him the offending was the stupidest thing he has ever done in his life.
Details of Clarkes offending were revealed publicly in May when he pleaded guilty to two counts of using altered documents with the intent to receive, and one charge of producing false documents.
His Dunedin-based company had been undervaluing the importation of heavy machinery since 2013, the summary of facts said.
Clarke appeared in the Dunedin District Court for sentencing on Wednesday.
The machines included excavators, diggers, loaders, tractors, dump trucks, cranes and bulldozers.
Clarke altered invoices to the New Zealand Customs Service, resulting in his company paying less duty, in particular GST.
Clarke also operated a machine hire company, which had branches in Dunedin, Christchurch and Cromwell. He employed 25 staff across his companies.
Clarke was responsible for ordering machinery, and for forwarding all invoices to his Customs broker.
Some 201 import entries had been lodged on behalf of the company between January 1, 2013, and September 9, 2019.
One entry sparked an audit as it showed differing values between the commercial invoice from the supplier and the invoice provided to Customs.
An investigation found Clarke had evaded paying GST for 23 out of 25 imported items.
A raid on his properties uncovered documents with white-out marker on them, plus pieces of paper glued over the original value of goods, with lower values entered instead.
Auditors also received false invoices from Clarke, as well as altered proof of payment for the goods.
The documents were compared to his own bank statements, which showed 23 payments did not match the actual payments recorded in the companys accounts.
Another investigation found another 50 import entries, and that $1.3 million was underpaid in total.
Judge Phillips heard Clarke needed to travel to work sites, and said he was satisfied a community-based sentence was appropriate.
That was for the benefit of his employees, not Clarke, the judge noted.
The sentence would enable him to work four days a week for six months. The remainder of his time would be spent at his Mosgiel home.
The judge also fined Clarke $30,000.