Mother of six gets home detention for $190,000 tax fraud

By Patrick Manning, Massey Journalism Student

An Auckland mother of six has been sentenced to eight months of home detention for claiming $190,000 in Working for Families tax credits she wasn't entitled to.

Sasagi Rosalie Filoa pleaded guilty to a representative charge of tax fraud and appeared for sentencing in the Manukau District Court on Tuesday, July 28.

WFTC payments provide assistance for low-income families with dependent children aged under 18.

The court was told that during a phone call to Inland Revenue in 2015, Filoa said she was a single parent. She claimed and received full single parent WFTC payments for 7 years from 2018 until 2024 while living with her husband. An assessment based on their combined income would have disqualified them from eligibility for the payments.

Inland Revenue records showed Filoa reported nil amounts under partner income each year.

During an interview with Inland Revenue, Filoa admitted she knew she shouldn't have been receiving the payments and said the money was used for daily living expenses and personal bills.

However, an Immigration Passenger Movement report showed she travelled overseas, often with her family, about 20 times between 2015 and 2024.

Judge Luke Radich noted that these trips indicated a comfortable financial position, and said it appeared the offending was "motivated by greed rather than necessity".

Filoa is repaying the $190,000 back to Inland Revenue at $300 per week. She faces a further six months of post-detention conditions after serving her sentence.