Centrelink fraudster rorted $200,000 by using a fake name to ‘double dip’ benefits – and you won’t believe how she got caught
- Conwoman rorted Centerlink of just under $200,000 over 12 years
- Patricia Hughes used the alias of Valentine Fox to ‘double dip’ welfare payments
A Centrelink fraudster fraudulently claimed nearly $200,000 in benefits – and was only caught after house burned down.
Patricia Shirlene Dianna Hughes, 47, used the fake alias, Valentine Fox, to ‘double dip’ social benefits between 2005 to 2017 but it all came unstuck when a fire broke out at her house in Myponga, south of Adelaide.
Hughes used the alias to file a ‘multiplicity of claims’ over the 12-year period to receive about $190,000 in illegitimate welfare claims.
Centrelink caught onto the con after there was a ‘suggestion of another person’ in the home after the fire, leading to an investigation into Hughes’ benefits claims.
She faced Adelaide District Court on Tuesday and pleading guilty to obtaining and attempting to obtain a financial advantage by deception.
A conwoman has rorted Centrelink of just under $200,000 using a fake alias to ‘double dip welfare payments over a 12 year period, only being found after her house burnt down
The court heard that Hughes had been receiving both legitimate welfare as well as an estimated $1200-a-month in illegitimate payments.
Her defence lawyer Paul Charman said the offending was partly due to her being coerced by others who were close to her, according to The Advertiser
Those who led her into continuing the fraud had direct control to the welfare payments, Mr Charman said.
However, he did note that ‘she (Hughes) doesn’t in any way walk away from her guilt, her responsibility, her culpability’.
Mr Charman also said the money was not used to fund an extravagant lifestyle, and was instead used for everyday living expenses such as food and petrol.
A forensic psychologist diagnosed Hughes with a complex post-traumatic stress disorder that stems from a dysfunctional upbringing.
The disorder had left her with an ‘almost catastrophically damaged psychological state’, Mr Charman said.
The Adelaide District Court (pictured) heard that Patricia Shirlene Dianna Hughes’ con was uncovered after another person, her alias, was not found in the house after the fire
Hughes has attempted to sell her partially burnt home, of which she still owes more than $200,000 in mortgage payments, to cover the $190,000 owed to the Commonwealth.
Mr Charman said that in the event the home is sold, any left over funds would be paid back to Centrelink.
Due to her damaged mental state, Hughes has barely left her home and has been left ‘petrified of going to prison’.
She will be sentenced next month.
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