Jonathan Beau (JB) Hall of Kodiak Consulting has been jailed for forging hundreds of documents that have impacted nearly 1,000 properties and affected 39 councils nationwide.

Hall, a Taupō-based engineering technologist, completed and signed documents using Chartered Professional Engineers’ identities and credentials without their permission. The documents include producer statements, which provide assurance to councils that a design meets Building Code and consenting requirements when signed by a Chartered Professional Engineer.

Hall pleaded guilty to 112 charges of forgery in December 2023. On 10 May 2024, Judge Hollister-Jones sentenced Hall to four years and six months jail in Rotorua District Court. The judge also ordered Hall pay Engineering New Zealand $85,758.62, which will be distributed to affected councils.

Engineering New Zealand welcomes the sentence, believing it serves as a strong deterrent to this kind of serious misconduct and to abusing the protected title of Chartered Professional Engineer.

Engineering New Zealand has worked with affected councils to help them provide certainty to owners in their communities, and with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and the NZ Police in their investigations.

On 10 May 2024, Judge Hollister-Jones sentenced Jonathan Beau Hall to 4 years 6 months jail for the impact of his offending through 112 charges of forgery involving the signatures of two Chartered Professional Engineers.

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Our list of affected councils is updated with any new information. If you have concerns about your property, get in touch with your local council, insurer and/or lawyer in the first instance.

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