Christchurch man claimed wage subsidy twice for the same employees

Rueben William Thomas Crook had previously pled guilty to one representative charge of dishonestly using a document relating to five wage subsidy applications submitted between March and August 2020.

Crook submitted the fraudulent applications on behalf of RWTC Services Limited, of which he is the sole director, claiming wage support for himself and several purported employees. However, the company was not trading at the time, was not generating revenue, and did not employ the individuals listed.

In reality, the named staff were employed by another company owned by Crook, Builder Access Limited, which had already claimed wage subsidies for them.

A total of $41,006.00 was paid into RWTC Services Limited’s account. Bank records show the majority of the funds were transferred to Crook’s personal account. There were also two substantial transactions to a third party labelled “boat”

District Court Judge Paul Geoghegan started at a point of two years imprisonment and allowed discounts for a guilty plea, remorse and full repayment of the amount prior to sentencing.

A total of 56 people have been sentenced in wage subsidy cases, and another 48 people are still before the courts as part of MSD’s programme of work on wage subsidy fraud and integrity. Since the scheme started, more than $830 million* in wage subsidies has been repaid.

For more information about the Wage Subsidy Integrity and Fraud Programme please see here. 

 *Figures at 7 November 2025