Chris McKeen/Stuff
The Manukau District Court where a former car dealer was sentenced for tax fraud.
A former fashion designer and secondhand car dealer has been sentenced to community detention for tax fraud.
Vladislav Alexandrovich Levada was in the Manukau District Court on September 4 where he received the maximum possible community detention sentence of six months.
He had created two companies using false identification and claimed more than $300,000 in GST refunds – even though neither company ever traded.
Using a false New Zealand driving licence he obtained using a fake US drivers’ licence as proof of identity, Levada created a false identity – Stephen John Isaacs.
He then set up companies Prestige Auto and Global Freight, listing Isaacs as director and shareholder.
According to a statement from Inland Revenue, Levada had twice been disqualified from driving in New Zealand and said he thought it was a good idea to have a spare driving licence in the name of Isaacs in case he was disqualified again.
He also used the NZ drivers’ licence to open bank accounts and receive correspondence from Inland Revenue.
Levada claimed GST refunds of $235,870.39 for Prestige Auto and $73,379.66 for Global Freight.
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Levada said he had financial stress from supporting his wife’s family in Ukraine and filed the false GST returns to relieve his financial situation.
He told investigators he knew he was stealing and repaid the full $309,250.05 owing.
In April 2021, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) charged Levada with six charges of knowingly making a false statement in a document required for the purposes of the Companies Act 1993. Those were the documents used to incorporate Prestige Auto and Global Freight.
Levada pleaded guilty and was sentenced to serve four months’ home detention in May 2022.
In 2011, Levada’s fashion label, Egoist, took part in New Zealand Fashion Week as part of the New Generation show. Egoist Limited was removed from the companies register in February 2015.
