Being fired from his job and facing deportation are the natural consequences of involvement in a SIM-swapping fraud the Court of Appeal ruled, refusing a discharge without conviction for India national Jaswinder Jass Singh.
The court was told Singh acted as a ‘secondary mule’ in a mobile phone fraud in which phone users saw their SIM card hijacked and bank accounts accessed. Fraudsters transferred funds to a bank account they controlled and then had secondary mules withdraw cash from these accounts. On three occasions over two months, Singh withdrew $23,000 on behalf of fraudsters. Singh said he was paid five hundred dollars ‘maybe once or twice’ for acting as a mule.
Singh pleaded guilty to fraud, asking for discharge without conviction. In the District Court, he was sentenced to twelve months supervision and ordered to pay $23,000 reparations. The reparations have been paid. Immigration advised he was liable for deportation. He was told informally by an immigration officer that deportation might be averted if his conviction was overturned. The Immigration Act in fact allows for deportation even if discharged without conviction; decisions about deportation are based on the fact of offending, not on conviction.
Singh said his job with a NZ Post contractor was at risk. NZ Post prohibits contractors from employing staff with fraud convictions.
Singh v. R. – Court of Appeal (21.02.22)
22.040