Aiyaz Mohammed, also known as Mohammed Aiyaz, was sentenced to 31 months’ imprisonment in the Manukau District Court on 27 October after dishonestly submitting applications that resulted in approximately $237,000 in COVID-19 wage subsidy payments.
The charges relate to wage subsidy offending by Aiyaz, along with Josephine Hale and Zayan Aiyub, who have already been sentenced. The three defendants wrongfully received over $248k in total.
The fraudulent wage subsidy applications submitted by Mr Aiyaz were made in the name of construction company Max Construction Civill & Drainage Co Limited. The company had no legitimate business activity, no employees, and was not eligible for the subsidy.
Josephine Hale was the sole director and shareholder for Max Construction.
Hale received over $21k directly into her bank account for three wage subsidy payments, and over $78k transferred from another account listed in the applications.
Wage subsidies were falsely claimed for up to 33 employees, including themselves. The defendants all knew they were not entitled to the subsidy.
Ms Hale and Mr Aiyub were sentenced separately at the Manukau District Court. Ms Hale was sentenced to 11 months’ home detention on 24 September 2025. Mr Aiyub was sentenced to 12 months’ home detention and 200 hours community work on 16 May 2026.
While the majority of employers met wage subsidy eligibility criteria or have chosen to repay the subsidy, MSD is committed to pursuing criminal and civil prosecutions to recover wage subsidy funds where necessary.
A total of 78 people have been sentenced in wage subsidy cases, and another 45 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 $843.6 million* in wage subsidies has been repaid.
*Figures at 30 September 2026