A computer specialist hired by Waka Kotahi used his access to driver licence databases to mislead police, create a false identity and take out massive loans in other people’s names to pay for methamphetamine.
One of those people had their life ruined, going from a near-perfect credit score to one so bad he could not rent a house.
David Allan Davies, 38, claims he was pressured into the frauds by gangs to pay a drug debt for a boarder.
But that boarder, who was believed by a judge, said there was never a debt and Davies had to fund his own meth use.
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Davies was sentenced in the Palmerston North District Court on Thursday to two years, five months and two weeks’ prison for a plethora of dishonesty offences stemming from his time working for Waka Kotahi.
His job as a contractor gave him access to various sections of Waka Kotahi’s computer systems, which he used to make multiple false user identities for the systems, which he used to access those databases.
He changed and attempted to change the licence status of multiple people, giving some qualifications they had not been tested for, while also making himself a false licence under someone else’s name.
Cybercrime is the second least-reported crime, after sexual assault, according to the Crime and Victims Survey.
He also used his access to get…
