Charges laid against agent who allegedly used migrant's name to claim asylum benefit

The Ministry for Social Development has pressed multiple charges against an agent who allegedly used a migrant workers' details to fraudulently obtain thousands of dollars of asylum seekers benefit.

In July, Chinese worker Xueshui Chi complained to the Ministry for Social Development (MSD) and Immigration New Zealand (INZ) about an agent who took his passport and personal documents under the pretence of offering recruitment and visa services.

Chi met the agent - who goes by the WeChat ID "nzworker" - in the middle of 2023, but it was not until June this year that he saw IRD records showing that he had more than $17,000 of income in MSD benefits - money that Chi had never received.

Chi said he had no idea about any asylum-related applications, and was accompanied by the agent in multiple meetings which he was told were job interviews.

MSD's general manager of service support George van Ooyen said initial charges were laid on 19 August.

He said the defendant was due for a first appearance on 21 August, but did not appear.

There was a warrant for their arrest, he said.

MSD said enquiries are ongoing and they are unable to say at this stage how many charges have been laid so far.

INZ earlier told RNZ they were assessing Chi's complaint, however, they were unable to confirm whether they were investigating the matter.

"To protect the integrity of our processes, we can't make any further comment on this," an INZ spokesperson said in a statement.