Auckland man sentenced for theft of gaming grant funds

An Auckland man stole grant funds totalling over AU$75,000.

New Zealand.- The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has reported that Iosefa Ta’alo Ape, also known as Joseph Aiono, from Auckland, has been sentenced for various offences related to the theft of class 4 (pokies) grant funds under the Crimes Act 1961. 

Ape was sentenced to six months of home detention and six months of post-detention and was ordered to pay reparations. At the time of the offences, he ran Hoop Star Basketball Academy and submitted fraudulent grant applications totalling AU$75,000.

Vicki Scott, director of gambling, DIA, said: “This type of dishonest behaviour will not be tolerated. We are committed to holding people to account to ensure the financial benefits to communities from gambling are maximised, and the integrity of the grants system is not compromised. Every dollar of grant funding from class 4 gambling matters.”