Auckland man sentenced to jail for wage subsidy fraud

Tingsong Qiu, also known as Tim Qiu, previously pled guilty to three counts of dishonest use of a document and was sentenced on 15 September 2026.

MSD found he had submitted 10 wage subsidy applications in the names of three different companies, two of which he was sole director.

Six of those applications were successful, and of those, three were identified as fraudulent. This resulted in $16,584.60 being incorrectly paid to Mr Qiu.

Qiu repeatedly declared that he was an employee of the businesses involved. However, the investigation found that he was not an employee receiving wages or salary from those businesses.

Multiple applications listed him as working full‑time across several companies simultaneously and in some cases, he was recorded as working for multiple employers at the same time on the same dates.

All applications were connected through Qiu, and using the same email address and phone number belonging to him.

While Qiu initially cooperated with investigators he later declined to be interviewed.

MSD sought reparation of $16,584.60, the total amount fraudulently obtained. Some of this has been repaid.

District Court Judge Hermann Retzlaff noted the lack of relevant convictions (at the time of offending), ongoing family support, and the prospect of rehabilitation and support in the community.

A total of 73 people have been sentenced in wage subsidy cases, and another 36 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 $837 million* in wage subsidies has been repaid.

For more information about the Wage Subsidy Integrity and Fraud Programme please see here.

*Figures at 30 June 2026