‘Robbed them of their life savings’: Men who scammed $833k from vulnerable Kiwis sentenced

Thursday, 7 May 2026

An organised criminal group in New Zealand targeted vulnerable elderly victims in phone scams, and homeless people to help launder money.

Three Indian nationals, Pargat Bhangu, Gurwinder Singh and Harmandeep Singh appeared for sentencing on a charge of participating in an organised criminal group, a charge which has a maximum penalty of 10 years’ jail.

The trio appeared before Judge Steve Bonnar in the Auckland District Court on Thursday.

The organised criminal group operated in New Zealand between June 13, 2019, to December 11, 2024, the court heard.

The trio were central participants in the group, which specialised in banking and Spark cold-calling scams targeting elderly and vulnerable victims.

There were 28 victims, with some of those now deceased, with the offending taking place between 2019-2024.

The group fraudulently took $833,000 from those victims, convincing them they worked for companies already supplying services to the victims.

Once they gained their trust, they convinced them to upload software to their computers, enabling them to remotely access their devices.

Having gained access to that information, the men would scope the victims’ bank account, later transferring money out of bank accounts, cards, or via Internet banking.

The group would transfer the money to other members of the organised criminal group.

Some of the members purchased property with the transferred money, occurring additional debt to the victims.

The scam including using Internet, encrypted communication applications, identification documents, Bitcoin, Prezzy Cards, ATM machines, and money transfer applications.

The members used virtual private networks (VPN) to hide their locations, and would use an alias by the name of ‘Steve Williams’ when cold-calling victims.

The money was sent offshore, mainly to associates in India, the court heard.

The group also recruited other vulnerable people, including the homeless, to obtain their personal details in order to launder money.

The court heard that Gurwinder Singh was found in possession of a fake driver licence, and an iPhone with 13 different sim cards.

The court heard there was no reparations order to be made.

Banghu previously had convictions for money laundering, with some of his offending unfolding while he was on bail.

Crown prosecutor Henry Steele described the offending as “sophisticated”, targeting vulnerable members of the community, namely the elderly.

The offenders then “robbed them of their life savings.”

While the offending was committed over telephone, and by distance, it had a “visceral” impact on the victims, many of whom no longer felt safe in their homes.

The offending had altered the lives of those victims profoundly, with some complainants having died before the court process was resolved.

Bhangu’s lawyer said his client came to New Zealand to study, and was not motivated by greed, but by helping his family.

Bhangu, 30, who the court heard was the “lead offender in New Zealand” of the criminal group.

“You were a trusted lieutenant,” Bonnar noted, with his offending “calculated and sinister”.

He was sentenced to three years and eight months’ jail.

Gurwinder Singh came to New Zealand in 2015 and had a clean record until he became involved in the scam in 2023.

The real offenders were overseas, and his client was not “in control” of the scam, his lawyer said.

Singh, who had spent 22 months in custody, was remorseful over the incident which Bonnar noted was genuine.

He was sentenced to two years’ jail, which meant he would soon be eligible for release.

Harmandeep Singh’s counsel noted his client became involved in early 2024, and was also not involved in the formation of the group.

He came from a lower socio economic area of India, with his parents taking out a loan so he could study in New Zealand from the age of 18.

While he had an obligation to his family to succeed in New Zealand, his on-going hardship had continued, the court heard.

He was sentenced to two years and eight months’ jail.

It is understood at least one of the men have been served with a deportation order.

The court ordered the destruction of any devices seized in the scam.