Hi lovely ladies I'm after I guess some insight around Centrelink Fraud, has anyone been there or known someone who has and what the outcome was, and unfortunately I'm not talking a few grand rather close to $200,000. Before you start throwing around they deserve jail etc I already know I wanna be mad and be that person that tells them all the reasons why they deserve to go to jail etc but I can't she's my sister I'm struggling there is kids involved. And I know the stupidity and everything else but she needs me and I can't tell her what she now already knows, We know it'll be before Christmas but the lawyers know nothing more at this stage. Has anyone been here before and know what to expect jail wise?
8 Replies
A quick Google search shows 14 weeks served then good behaviour bond of a 5 year sentence for 40k fraud and 2 years min served of a 6 year sentence for 2M fraud.
I googled everything and couldn't get a clear picture thankyou.
I understand your concern, I hope things work out for your sister. Don’t feel ashamed, your love is unconditional for her, as it should be ❤️ I would hide the body for mine xxxx
I worked with a lady who was convicted of Centrelink fraud, nowhere near that amount though. She has kids and still did a couple of years in jail. I would suggest your sister make sure she’s prepared for that outcome.
I worked in fraud for several years (on a business side), every case is different - the circumstances of the case, her intent, the evidence, the judge, whether or not she admits fault, how cooperative she is and her personal circumstances. And so on.
One case a woman obtained over $10m through fraud, she was sentenced to 1 year in jail. Another case, only $500k fraud, perpetrator sentenced to five years jail.
Unfortunately, there are too many variables with criminal proceedings - a lawyer will be best placed to advise your sister on what to expect. Look up what the maximum penalties are, work out what the worst case scenario could be. Prepare for the worst, be hopeful for a better outcome.
Good luck x
I think preparing for a decent stint in prison would be most advisable at this point. How long? I don't think there's really an answer for that at the moment.
As i said, prepare! Both in a practical sense and an emotional one.
Eg. who will have custody of the children while she's away, who will take care of her personal affairs when she goes in, if she's at risk of losing her home who will pack and store her stuff, what's the plan on her release & where will she go etc.
Getting a plan in place for the worst case scenario will be one less thing to deal with.
In terms of emotionally/mentally perhaps some therapy or councelling may be a good idea, your sister is facing something pretty scary and stressful. Finding a way to come to terms with all this will be helpful I'm sure.
I don't condone what your sister (and many others before her) has done but I do feel for her and I can see how people get themselves into this situation so easily. I don't know a single family that's not under some sort of financial pressure so I can understand how people are lead to making this choice.
I do hope she doesn't pay too heavy a price for this
Family first but you don’t have to agree with her actions. A quick google search shows most get some jail time. She needs to be full organised for who looks after her kids, property etc, and the risk anything she does have my be repossessed to pay the debt back. Hard lesson to learn but at 200k she knew what was going on. Good luck
I know someone who went to jail for centrelink fraud in the 90s. They got 2 years and are STILL paying them back.
It's a serious offence. If you're not in a position to have the kids for that amount of time I would start making arrangements for them