A 24 year old Auckland man, has been sentenced to six months home detention after fraudulently submitting class 4 (pokie) gambling grant applications, seeking a total of $73,000.

Joshua Gilfedder pled guilty to three charges for accessing a computer system for a dishonest purpose, using forged documents, and altering documents with intent to deceive, at Auckland District Court.

This followed an investigation by the Department of Internal Affairs which found that between April and July 2023, Gilfedder accessed Aotearoa Gaming Trust’s online grant application portal and impersonated two community organisations in four grant funding applications. He also forged documents to give the impression he held management roles in those organisations.

Aotearoa Gaming Trust declined all four applications and filed a complaint to the Department regarding the grant applications. Gilfedder did not obtain any grant funding.

Electronic devices seized during a search warrant at Gilfedder's residential address revealed evidence of the offending.

“The community grants system is an integral part of the class 4 (pokies) system. Deliberate attempts to manipulate that system for personal gain will not be tolerated.” says Vicki Scott, Director Gambling, DIA.

“Our goal is to make sure grant funding goes to the genuine communities and organisations who need it, not into the pockets of criminals. We take the integrity of the grants process very seriously.”

“We investigate all forms of gambling-related criminal offending, and we will continue to hold people to account where we see unlawful behaviour.”

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