Ex-dealer cops fraud penalty

A former second-hand car dealer from Auckland has been sentenced to community detention for tax fraud.

Vladislav Alexandrovich Levada received the maximum possible community detention sentence of six months when he was sentenced in the Manukau District Court on September 4.

Inland Revenue says Levada ended up before the court after he created a false identity, Stephen John Isaacs. He did this with a bogus New Zealand driver licence he had obtained by using a false US driver licence as proof of identity. 

He then set up two companies, Prestige Auto and Global Freight, and listed Isaacs as director and shareholder.

Levada also used the NZ driver licence to open bank accounts and to receive correspondence from Inland Revenue. 

The department adds Levada had twice been disqualified from driving in New Zealand under his own name and said he thought it was a good idea to have a spare licence in the name of Isaacs in case he was disqualified again.

Inland Revenue continues that Levada claimed GST refunds totalling $309,250.05 – $235,870.39 for Prestige Auto and $73,379.66 for Global Freight – but neither company ever traded.

He told investigators he knew he was stealing but the added financial stress of supporting his wife’s family in Ukraine had led to him continuing to file false GST returns to relieve his situation. 

Levada repaid $309,250.05, which was the full amount owing.

In April 2021, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) charged Levada with six charges of knowingly making a false statement in a document required for the purposes of the Companies Act 1993. These were the documents needed to incorporate Prestige Auto and Global Freight.

He pleaded guilty to those charges and was sentenced to four months’ home detention in May last year.