Mother, 45, admits to stealing more than $200,000 of taxpayers’ money from Medicare – but she claims it was for a good cause
- New South Wales mother Talaiha Inia pleaded guilty to defrauding Medicare
- Inia submitted 92 false Medicare statement over six years totalling $224,000
- She submitted false claims while working at various Sydney doctor’s practices
A mother has pleaded guilty to defrauding over $200,000 from Medicare – but she claims she did it to support her family.
Talaiha Inia, 45, pleaded guilty to submitting 92 false Medicare claims while working at various doctor’s offices across Sydney, 9 News reported.
The court heard that Inia had used her role as a practice manager at 12 different doctor’s offices across Sydney to falsify and submit fraudulent Medicare claims from 2008 until 2014.
She even created her own Medicare forms using Microsoft Word outside of working hours.
New South Wales Central Coast woman Talaiha Inia, 45, (pictured) pleaded guilty to submitting 92 false Medicare claims totalling $224,000 over six years
The 92 false claims over six years amounted to a total of $224,000.
The Crown Prosecutor told the court the large sum was startling however it was accumulated in small chunks over a long period of time.
The prosecutor said it seemed the fraudulent claims were ‘more a matter of need than greed’.
Defence barrister Sally Orman-Hales argued her client had not stolen the money to fund a lavish lifestyle.
‘I’m not saying people should take money they’re not entitled to. My client was not using it to fund an expensive lifestyle but keep the family going,’ she said.
Her fraudulent activity was uncovered in February of 2014 when Medicare discovered Inia had submitted two claims for neurological procedures which she alleged her and her daughter underwent.
Inia has so far paid back $790 of the $224,000 as part of a debt recovery scheme.
She will be sentenced next week.
Her fraudulent activity was uncovered in February of 2014 when Medicare discovered Inia had submitted two claims for neurological procedures which she alleged her and her daughter underwent