Fraudulent electrician risked lives but got stellar online reviews for electrical work

Saturday, 22 September 2018

A fraudulent sparky put lives at risk by continuing to do dangerous electrical work while under investigation.

The Electrical Workers Registration Board reached an interim decision this week to ban Pritesh Pritesh, also known as Pritesh Raicharan, from the electrical profession for five years after he wired an Eden Terrace unit so poorly an Auckland family faced the risk of electric shock or electrocution.

In July the Sunday-Star Times reported Pritesh was contracted to work in 2014 on a Housing New Zealand project to repair 5000 properties in Christchurch damaged by the earthquake.

Pritesh was not a registered electrician but certified the work as safe with the aid of three pre-signed code of compliance booklets left in Christchurch by his then-boss Rakesh Kumaran.

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Fake electrician Pritesh Pritesh captured on CCTV entering an Eden Terrace property. Unable to register as an electrician for five years by the Electricity Workers Registration Board EWRB.

Kumaran's former employee, Pritesh, left Christchurch and advertised himself as a registered electrician in Auckland until at least May this year.

Mark Carter of TorqueIP, who inspected the electrical work at the Eden Terrace property, told the hearing there was a risk of electric shock to people in the building from Pritesh's wiring.

Rebecca Denmeade who appeared for MBIE, which bought the charges against Pritesh, said it was possible Pritesh had been wiring houses unsafely in Auckland for 'quite some time'.

Jeremy Steinberg, who owned the Eden Terrace property, reported Pritesh to MBIE after he charged him $60 for an 'obviously fraudulent' Certificate of Compliance.

'That's when it all started to unravel.'

Pritesh spelt the supposed supervisor's name wrong then forged the man's signature on the certificate he provided, Steinberg said.

Fradulent certficates of compliance filled out at Eden Terrace property by fake electrician Pritesh Pritesh.

Dodgy electrical work at an Eden Terrace property has seen fake electrician Pritesh Pritesh punished by the Electrical Workers Registration Board.

'He just kept lying at every junction.'

Steinberg said rave user reviews on trades website BuildersCrack.co.nz, which included a 4.5 out of 5 for workmanship, convinced him to hire Pritesh.

Reviewers labelled the fraudulent electrician 'fantastic', 'efficient', and 'helpful'.

The five-year-ban was an interim decision until Pritesh, who did not appear at the hearing, was given a chance to respond.

Steinberg was 'p….. off' Pritesh continued to work and advertise while under investigation by MBIE.

'I don't see how anyone can think it's okay to mess around with 240 volts without proper licensing.'