Serial immigration fraudster jailed

A Fijian man has been sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment for what a judge described as a lifetime of immigration fraud.

Raymond Claudius was sentenced at Christchurch District Court after being found guilty of three counts of providing false or misleading information in relation to his previous visa applications.

In sentencing, the Judge described his crimes as a “lifetime of immigration fraud.”

Born in Fiji and originally known as Bal Krishna, Claudius moved to Australia in his early adult life before he was eventually deported.  Back in Fiji Claudius accumulated several dishonesty convictions before he later jumped ship to New Zealand in 1987, where he lived in Nelson for two years under different names to help him to escape the authorities. He was eventually tracked down and deported to Fiji in 1989.

Upon his return to Fiji the defendant changed his name by deed poll to Raymond Claudius and travelled to New Zealand in 2007 under his new name.

In 2015 Claudius’ past finally caught up with him when, following an investigation by Immigration New Zealand he was interviewed and the extent of his fraudulent past was unraveled.

Immigration New Zealand Assistant General Manager, Peter Devoy welcomed the outcome, “this case demonstrates just how seriously the courts take matters of immigration fraud. It also illustrates that where there is evidence of those who seek to abuse the system we will find you and you will be brought to justice.”