Sentencing for over $200k in Wage Subsidy fraud

Two people have been sentenced in the Wellington District court in connection with more than $200,000 in wage subsidy fraud.  

Khawyn Rameka was sentenced in October to 23 months imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to two representative charges of dishonestly using a document.  

He used his name and the name of two separate companies to make 31 fraudulent wage subsidy applications totalling $288,213.80 between March and August 2020. 

Rameka used the names of Wellington Construction and Recruitment, and Diamond Building Solutions to claim subsidy payments. Neither companies were actively trading at the time the claims were made. Further to this, Diamond Building Solutions was incorporated after the wage scheme had been introduced. 

Rameka made 22 successful applications for $175,740 and Rameka submitted a further nine unsuccessful applications for a total of $112,473.80.  

District Court Judge Stephen Harrop considered the offending was serious, and different in nature to ‘ordinary’ benefit fraud, as the COVID-19 wage subsidy scheme was created to help those most in need at an unprecedented time.  

All his successful applications were paid into accounts belonging to his partner Jade Farrell, who was also not entitled to receive the same wage subsidies.  

Farrell was sentenced  in November after being found guilty of 31 charges of dishonestly using a document. She was found to have played a lesser role in the offending and sentenced to 9 months home detention.  

District Court Judge Brett Crowley also noted her prior good character was relevant to her sentence. 

They used the money to pay bills and other day to day costs, as well as recreational purchases on vehicles, hunting and fishing, hardware stores, and dive and ski stores. Sums were also spent on online gambling. 

Rameka was ordered to pay reparations of the full amount he received. 

A total of 56 people have been sentenced in wage subsidy cases, and another 48 people are still before the courts as part of MSD’s programme of work on wage subsidy fraud and integrity. Since the scheme started, more than $830 million* in wage subsidies has been repaid. For more information about the Wage Subsidy Integrity and Fraud Programme please see here. 

 *Figures at 7 November 2025