File photo. Photo: Christine Rush / RNZ
The New Zealand Transport Agency says a man sentenced to 10 months and two weeks home detention for fraudulently issuing warrants of fitness put vehicle owners, their passengers and other road users as risk.
The owner of Newmarket Automotive Repairs, Imroz Taki, was sentenced in the Auckland District Court in May, after NZTA investigators found he had issued 677 warrants of fitness despite not being an authorised vehicle inspector, between December 2022 and June 2023.
Taki had used the vehicle inspector appointment of a previous employee, and had not completed any of the inspections.
Customers were charged $60 per WOF, earning Taki more than $40,000 in undue revenue, NZTA said.
NZTA revoked the business's inspecting organisation authority, as well as all WOFs issued by Taki over the time of his offending.
Those affected were contacted by NZTA and asked to have their vehicles rechecked, with a number of customers finding faults in their cars upon reinspection.
Senior Manager Safer Vehicles Nicole Botherway said Taki risked the safety of not only vehicle owners, but others who shared the road also.
"It's very disappointing when fraud happens in the vehicle inspecting system, as the customer pays the price - having to pay for another WOF and potentially being at put at risk in the interim period, if vehicle faults exist and have gone unchecked," she said.
"People should be reassured that NZTA has the access to data and intelligence to investigate when we have concerns about fraud. We take swift action and hold vehicle inspectors to account when vehicle safety is compromised."
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