Passport fraudster used dead baby's name

The Department of Internal Affairs says fraudsters will get caught, even if the offence happened 22 years ago. A Wellington man has been convicted and sentenced to 300 hours community service for taking the name of a dead baby in 1985 in order to apply for a New Zealand passport. Penalties for this crime were increased in 2002.

Judge Peter Butler said the parents of the dead baby had been distressed to find that the man, Nigel Tim Offen, had got a birth certificate in the name of their child and used it to get a passport.

Passport Manager David Philp in commenting on the conviction today, said misusing documents was not a victimless crime.

"Innocent people are hurt by the crime of identity fraud.

"We're pleased to catch people committing this type of crime and we now have systems in place to detect this type of fraud. This includes on-line checks with Birth, Death and Citizenship Registers. The penalties for this type of crime were increased in 2002 to ten years imprisonment and/or a fine of $250,000.

"Those who commit this type of crime affect the integrity of the New Zealand passport for all New Zealanders," he said.

ENDS

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