Softball club captain sentenced for grant funding fraud

A former president and club captain of Kapiti Softball Club was today sentenced to seven months home detention for manipulation and misuse of grant funding from several gaming machine societies.

Lee Keating pleaded guilty and was convicted on six charges under the Crimes Act involving dishonestly using a document and theft in a trusted relationship.

The Department of Internal Affairs told the Porirua District Court that between 2007 and 2011 Mr Keating dishonestly obtained grant funding for his softball club and the Central Regional Baseball Association. The Association was established by Mr Keating and a colleague but abandoned before it was up and running. Once the grant money was received, Mr Keating dishonestly accounted for the way in which it was spent.

The clubs received a combined total of $122,000 in fraudulently obtained grants of which $41,917.50 remained unaccounted for. Mr Keating used $14,530.67 of the grant funding for his own personal benefit, however due to existing significant debts, he was not ordered to make any repayments.

The Department’s Deputy Director Gambling Compliance, Gareth Bostock, said that non-casino gaming machines raise more than $250 million annually for the community.

“It is fundamental to the integrity of the grants process that documents supplied to gambling trusts are true and correct,” Mr Bostock said. “The misappropriation of funds is a serious offence and in effect is a crime against the community because grant funding is taken away from its intended community purpose.”

Judge Tompkins considered the loss to other potential grant recipients was particularly problematic, as was the sheer length of time, and the relative sophistication, of Mr Keating’s fraudulent activities.

Special conditions were imposed on Mr Keating to prevent him taking on any work, volunteering, or association with sports or social clubs without permission from the Probation Service.

Mr Bostock further said “The support of the gaming machine societies involved in this investigation has been instrumental in this outcome. Working together to build a strong network helps our efforts to detect, deter and, where appropriate, prosecute fraudulent activity so that grant funding benefits the communities it is intended for.”

ENDS

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