Police acknowledge the sentence handed down to Hayden Gobey at the Wellington District Court.
Gobey was sentenced to nine years and eight months imprisonment yesterday for serious fraud offending.
Detective Inspector Stuart Mills says Police acknowledge the impact this offending had on the victims.
“Victims lost thousands of dollars and this will have caused an extreme amount of financial stress, both short and long term.
“We want to acknowledge the assistance that victims have provided throughout our investigation, getting us to this point.”
“This was sophisticated and serious fraud offending involving the dishonest access and misuse of personal information, forgery and impersonation.
“The offending was deliberately deceptive in nature and is likely to have had a significant impact on victims, undermining their trust not only in individuals but also in a range of organisations and services.”
Mireille Johnson, Department of Internal Affairs’ Investigations Identity Manager says the Department of Internal Affairs takes the security and integrity of RealMe very seriously.
“Offending of this nature, where someone impersonates other individuals and misuses the identity verification service, undermines trust in New Zealand’s digital identity systems.
“We work closely with domestic and international partners, including New Zealand Police, to detect and respond to this kind of offending. We welcome this outcome and hope it sends a clear message that those who seek to abuse New Zealand’s identity systems will be held accountable.”
