Auckland District Court recently sentenced Kiel MacGregor, 44, to 12 months of intensive supervision following his involvement in a phone fraud and identity theft scheme. MacGregor acted as a “mule” in an operation that exploited telco Spark’s retail outlets to take control of victims’ mobile phones and access their bank accounts, resulting in financial losses exceeding $44,000 for one individual.

Court documents revealed that MacGregor used forged identification, combining legitimate customer details with his own photograph, to request transfers of phone numbers onto devices under his control. This process enabled him to intercept banking authentication messages, facilitating the unauthorized transfer of funds before victims realized their phone service had been compromised. The scheme began in October 2022 with an unsuccessful attempt targeting a Taupō-based farming business owner, thwarted by Spark’s detection of suspicious activity and an invalid license.

Approximately two weeks later, MacGregor successfully impersonated a business owner, diverting $33,082 from the individual’s personal account and an additional $11,241 from the company account. He then used forged identification to convert about $31,300 into Bitcoin through a cryptocurrency exchange. In 2023, MacGregor further exploited stolen identities to obtain $800 in Spark gift cards and fraudulently purchase two iPhones and a $2,000 camera kit.

Authorities noted that MacGregor, who struggled with methamphetamine addiction and was homeless at the time, retained only a small share of the illicit gains, with others playing a greater role in masterminding the operation. Following each successful SIM swap, he reportedly visited an address in Milford linked to the wider criminal network.

MacGregor’s legal troubles extended beyond the fraud charges. In May 2024, police stopped a Nissan Tilda he was driving erratically in Te Atatū early one morning. Officers found methamphetamine, cash, scales, and a bottle containing GBL (also known as “fantasy” or “liquid ecstasy”) in his possession. He denied ownership of the drugs but was later charged again after sending a package of GBL to his brother’s home in Whangārei while on bail.

Previously accepted into a drug court program aimed at supporting recovery and reducing imprisonment, MacGregor was removed from the initiative for unspecified reasons. Judge David Sharp identified the methamphetamine charge, which carries a potential life sentence, as the principal offence. The GBL-related charges carried maximum penalties of up to 14 years, while the fraud offences held a maximum penalty of 10 years.

MacGregor spent nearly a year on electronically monitored bail and 16 months in custody after being unable to stay with his brother on bail in Whangārei. Given this time served, Judge Sharp determined that further incarceration was unnecessary, citing that the punitive element of the sentence had effectively been met. The judge applied a significant sentence discount for MacGregor’s guilty pleas, addiction issues, and time already spent in custody, resulting in an overall sentence below the threshold for mandatory imprisonment.

The Crown prosecutor urged for a custodial sentence to address the wide-ranging offending and bail breaches, emphasizing the benefits of parole supervision. The defence recommended a standard community supervision order, which the judge ultimately exceeded by imposing the more rigorous intensive supervision order while acknowledging that continued imprisonment would be excessive.