Auckland
businessman Sanjay Kumar Joshi was sentenced to six years jail after defrauding
over twenty victims of $1.9 million.
Most affected were relatives and acquaintances. Worst affected was his business partner who
lost nearly one million dollars.
With qualifications in marketing and
accounting, Joshi worked for a motor vehicle parts supplier before starting his
own business in 2010. He conned a
business partner into joining the venture with lies about exclusive
distribution rights supposedly held.
Frauds against customers continued over a three year period.
The High Court was told Joshi promised defrauded
customers he could source luxury cars cheaply from Japan. Payment was made upfront, but the vehicles
were either never delivered or arrived with loans secured against the vehicle;
loans taken out by Joshi. Amongst those
defrauded were the father of a school friend, an acquaintance met at a mutual
friend’s birthday party and his doctor.
He defrauded motor vehicle parts suppliers by falsely representing he
was ordering as an authorised agent of one of their customers. Two insurance claims were declined as
fraudulent. In the first, Joshi staged a
break-in fraudulently claiming loss by theft having previously removed two
motor vehicles and computer hardware from his business premises. In the second, he claimed for damaged stock,
allegedly following an accident with a forklift. Staged photos were supplied for the claim
after spreading oil on the warehouse floor and scattering empty stock
containers as if they were stock damaged in an accident.
Joshi also defrauded his parents: using
his mother’s credit card without authority and forging financial statements
purporting to be those of his parents’ business as support for a loan
application to finance companies.
R.
v. Joshi – High Court (15.09.15)
15.104