Underground poker ring, debt: Indian-origin engineer jailed in New Zealand for $1m fraud, he was planning to move to Australia

An Indian-origin engineer, Shyamal Sushil Shah, a former Auckland Council employee, has been sentenced to two years and two months in prison for over $1 million fraud from the public sector, New Zealand Herald reported.

Shah pleaded guilty at the Auckland District Court and his plea for bail and home detention has been denied. Shah used to work as a water network engineer at Watercare and carried out the massive fraud over a 17-month period. He came up with a scheme of generating fake invoices under bogus names and payments to those were credited directly to Shah's personal account. Some 40 fake invoices for fake entities like "Gardener Construction", "Ben Gardener" were produced, resulting in about $1039146 deposited into his account.

Watercare manages the Auckland region’s drinking water and wastewater services.Shah was arrested in November 2023 which was supposed to be his final week at Watercare as he was already planning to relocate to Australia. Shah proposed to return the money he siphones using his KiwiSaver, a loan from his new employer, and financial help from his parents. “I imagine, as any parent would be, they’re horrified and distressed," Judge Kate Davenport commented, noting the parents' gesture.

According to the NZ Herald report, Shah's scam began as he got addicted to gambling that began as the SkyCity Casino. Eventually, he got entangled with an underground poker ring, His debts increased, and he was forced to turn to fraud out of desperation. Shah's lawyer David Jones KC said despite the conviction, Shah completed 267 hours of charity work, held three new jobs and remains "very much sought after" in his field. Judge Davenport granted a 55% sentencing discount for Shah’s guilty plea, prior good character, remorse, rehabilitation efforts, and repayment offer, but emphasised the need for deterrence and denunciation, NZ Herald reported.