Court of Appeal confirmed former chartered accountant Luke Rivers near six year sentence for fraud after Rivers (also known as Mai Qu) fraudulently under-declared taxable income for almost a decade, reducing his liability for child support payments, and then pocketed nearly one million dollars after making multiple fraudulent covid-19 wage subsidy applications.
In July 2025, Rivers surrendered this one million dollar benefit in a court-approved proceeds of crime settlement.
Court of Appeal stated his five year eleven month sentence was appropriate for offences committed, including: knowingly providing false information to Inland Revenue; using forged documents; and money laundering.
His offending was described as highly sophisticated, calculated and multi-faceted.
Amongst the fraudulent covid-19 wage subsidy applications were claims on behalf of non-existent employees in three different companies with the groundwork laid by Rivers first obtaining IRD numbers in their names using forged documents and false email addresses.
He used employee information from non-trading client companies to make further claims.
He falsely claimed to be a full-time employee of five different companies he controlled.
Investigations were hampered by his dealings with Inland Revenue being transacted variously in both his birth name and his current name.
Money laundering charges followed Rivers actions in setting up a bank account in Singapore, using a forged passport under a false identity, to hide covid-19 subsidy payments fraudulently received.
Separately, Court of Appeal dismissed suggestions that his term of imprisonment be reduced because of the more than two years spent on electronically-monitored bail prior to sentencing.
This cannot be considered an onerous burden justifying any reduction, the court said.
Rivers v. R – Court of Appeal (18.08.26)
26.236