John Hall was sentenced to four years and six months in prison in the Rotorua District Court.Photo/Andrew Warner
Over nearly six years, John Hall fraudulently signed more than 1,900 documents purporting to be a more qualified engineer than he was. Using the profits from his work, he made a large donation to a Taupo-based organization. church. But his actions had “devastating” consequences for hundreds of people across New Zealand. Today he appeared in Rotorua District Court to face his victims and be sentenced. Kelly Makiha reports.
Word quickly spread that if you were building a house, Jonathan Beau Hall was the person to go to for a quick and cheap engineering report.
He thrived on the job, earning about $2.4 million over six years for his solo Taupo-based company.
But the 47-year-old had committed fraud. He signed the names of his more qualified colleagues and boasted that his own work had been certified.
This was not the case, meaning there were hundreds of buildings across New Zealand's 39 district councils that were given approval despite not being compliant with the law.
This is potentially New Zealand's biggest building industry fraud.
Hall, now known as John Hall, pleaded guilty to 112 counts of forgery and was sentenced to four years and six months in prison. Of those charges, 47 of his charges are representative charges, meaning the offenses occurred more than once.
In sentencing Hall, Judge Greg Hollister-Jones said 946 properties were affected. He estimated the damage caused to be in the millions of dollars.
“The scale of your crime is enormous…as far as I know, it's the largest scale of professional forgery.”
He said notices of questionable engineering would have needed to be added to the property's LIM report for all 946 properties.
“Receiving an unfavorable land information report can be a very stressful event.”
He said there would be significant insurance implications as the property did not have a valid certificate of compliance.
Judge Hollister-Jones cited pre-sentence news reports and said Hall was “introverted and shy.”
While others charged about $8,000, he charged between $1,600 and $2,500, about a third of what the report should have charged.
Hall estimates he has benefited more than $550,000 financially.
Judge Hollister-Jones said Hall had donated about $300,000 to charities, including about $275,000 to his church, Abundant Church in Taupo.
“You have fallen into the trap of obtaining interpersonal compensation to please the client.”
The offenses spanned from 2017 to 2023 and uncovered 1927 reports fraudulently signed by Mr Hall, primarily for residential properties in New Zealand, through his company Kodiak Consulting.
More than half of the violations involved properties in the Taupo region, while other areas included Tauranga, Opotiki, Rotorua and Auckland.
Mr Justice Hollister-Jones said Mr Hall was a Chartered Member Engineer of the New Zealand School of Engineering. The documents he signed required him to be a licensed professional engineer, who is considered a licensed architectural practitioner and legally protected by the Building Act.
Once the document is signed, the building consent authority, such as the council, has reasonable grounds to believe that the work complies with the building regulations and can issue consent and compliance regulations.
The forgery was discovered after a Rotorua Lakes Council staff member contacted a certified engineer whose signature was forged to discuss the project.
The engineer had no recollection of the project. It turns out that the signature on the certified document looks nothing like the engineer's signature.
“This is how your fabrication was exposed.”
Judge Hollister-Jones said Wellington Police had been contacted and all 39 councils needed to “completely review” all of his projects. Some were completed to a satisfactory standard, while others required a complete redesign.
Prosecutor Amanda Gordon said Judge Hollister Jones Hall is qualified to do some of the work, but not all of it.
For example, he could create drawings, but he had to have them certified by a qualified engineer.
Gordon said Hall began by forging documents and continued to obtain certifications, but eventually stopped pursuing them. He had forged the signature of the engineer he had previously replaced.
When the first qualified engineer he had hired left, Hall looked for someone else and eventually began forging that person's signature.
Gordon told Justice Hollister-Jones that he could not find any other cases of similar magnitude to which the Crown could compare case law.
He said there continues to be a risk to public safety as some people may be unaware that they are living in homes that do not meet required building codes.
Mr Gordon said there had been a significant impact on the reputations of the two engineers whose signatures were forged, noting one had left New Zealand due to “constant barrage” from the victims.
She said he filed a victim impact statement in court and said his personal losses were more than $300,000.
Defense attorney Matthew Ward Johnson noted that Hall's parents, uncle and three friends, including a church pastor, supported Hall in court.
Ward-Johnson said his client was justified in accepting a prison sentence, but that the judge should consider home detention if he reaches a sentence of less than two years.
He said Mr Hall was remorseful and had offered to pay $85,000 in restitution and that the risk of him reoffending was low, in his words “no risk”.
Ward Johnson said Hall did not benefit financially from his criminal activities and in fact donated the majority of his money to charity, including $275,000 to a church.
He said compensation offers from customers were the last remaining funds.
Taupo District Council building manager Dean Southey said 650 buildings in the district were affected. This additional work cost ratepayers at least $500,000 in additional repair work.
He said councils depended on the integrity and professionalism of certified engineers and the impact was being felt on councils, building owners and other professional engineers across New Zealand.
Mr Southey said many homes were under stop work orders, impacting contractors and causing delays and costly repairs.
He said the full impact remains to be seen, as more substandard work may come to light in the future.
Ms Southey said she spent hours upsetting property owners, including elderly homeowners, who were concerned about the costs.
He said there was a lot of stress because of the need to place a notice on a property's LIM report related to fraudulent engineering, which can have a significant impact on property prices and the ability to sell a home.
One of the victims, Martin Atkins, told the court he would have to pay at least $40,000 to hire a professional to fix his work. It caused mental and emotional harm, stress and anxiety.
He asked Judge Hollister Jones to impose a prison term, saying his offenses had had “devastating consequences”.
Mike Timmer, of Taupo, said Mr Hall's crimes affected the house he was building.
He said he is retired and is concerned about whether his savings will be readjusted.
The rework cost $32,000, but the stress was significant.
Judge Hollister Jones read out the 92-year-old man's victim impact statement, saying the couple had suffered stress because they could not get insurance.
Judge Hollister Jones said the 65-year-old widow had to rewrite in her victim impact statement that the entire east side of her home cost $40,000.
She said in a statement that she was under extreme stress, unable to sleep and constantly worried.
In a media statement provided to Rotorua Daily PostNew Zealand engineering firm Te Ao Rangahau said it welcomed Mr Hall's ruling.
Chief executive Dr Richard Templer said the title of Chartered Professional Engineer is a protected title given to engineers who are recognized for their ability, and Mr Hall did not have the same level of skills and qualifications. Ta.
Mr Templer said Mr Hall's actions called into question the sturdiness of people's homes.
“This situation is causing a lot of stress for property owners and a huge burden on many local councils,” Mr Templer said.
Mr Templer also submitted a victim impact statement to the court, which said his concerns ranged from “potentially minor concerns and management concerns to more complex issues such as the robustness of the building's foundations”. “There are likely to be a wide range of concerns, ranging from serious concerns,” he said.
He said in a statement that identifying the unique impacts of each property will be a challenge for many councils and engineers for some time yet, even before considering improvements.
Kelly Makiha A senior journalist who has been a reporter for the Rotorua Daily Post for over 25 years, he primarily covers police, courts, human interests and social issues.
