Source : Perth Now news
Five people have been charged after a nationwide government agency rorting crackdown, suspected of costing taxpayers $235 million.
The AFP said it searched 26 properties across Adelaide, the NSW Central Coast, Melbourne, rural Queensland and Sydney during a three-month sting.
Investigators seized more than $120,000 in cash, $15,000 in silver bullion, and about $60,000 worth of jewellery.
Authorities identified approximately $235 million in actual and potential fraud.
AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Stephen Raper said police were actively targeting those trying to rort the government.
“Service providers are there to support Australians who need it, and while the majority do the right thing, there are groups in our country who selfishly rort the system for their own personal gain,” he said.
Following searches on properties in Sydney, three people were arrested for allegedly harvesting user details through a phishing scam, then using them to redirect social security payments.
The syndicate compromised about 2000 Centrelink records and made more than 3000 fraudulent transactions since March last year, police said.
Two women, 23 and 22, and a man, 26, were each charged with dealing in proceeds of crime.
In Adelaide, investigators searched a house before arresting a National Disability Insurance Agency employee who allegedly gave out the information of 78 NDIS participants, without permission, to providers.
The NDIS providers then claimed $21.8 million against the participants’ plans, generating $1.6 million in revenue.
The NDIA employee, a 42-year-old woman, allegedly also made money from the rort.
She was charged with abuse of public office and using information in the course of duties to dishonestly obtain a benefit.
In Victoria, a man was arrested after allegedly defrauding the NDIS of more than $700,000 over a two-year period.
He allegedly established two businesses to defraud his own NDIS plan, police said.
The man has been charged with making false documents, dishonestly causing loss to the NDIS, and dealing with proceeds of crime.
NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commissioner Louise Glanville said fraud undermined the integrity of the scheme and directed money away from those who needed it.
“Protecting the integrity of the NDIS requires a coordinated effort, and we will continue to identify, disrupt and take action against those seeking to misuse Scheme funding,” she said.
