A single 44-year-old mother has been accused of bribing teenagers with alcohol and cigarettes to use them for Centrelink payments.
Leisa Atkinson was engaged to Andrew, 17, and his mother Suzy claims the single mother used his disability pension, however Ms Atkinson denies the accusations.
Ms Atkinson met Andrew when he was 17-years-old according to mother Suzy and his sister, Aleah, she supplied him with an attractive lifestyle of all night parties, cigarettes, alcohol and computer games, A Current Affair reported.
Leisa Atkinson (pictured) has been accused of bribing teenagers with alcohol and cigarettes to use them for Centrelink payments
Ms Atkinson (pictured centre) was reportedly engaged to a boy half her age, Andrew, 17
The teenager’s mother claims Ms Atkinson (pictured centre) used him for his disability pension
‘We didn’t allow smoking when she set the trap, so I think that’s where he basically fell into it,’ Suzy told the program.
‘It’s all about the money and it always has been.’
Suzy and Aleah say Andrew, who is on a disability pension, became hateful towards his own family and after he moved in with Ms Atkinson, and claimed she controlled all his money.
However, when confronted by A Current Affair, the 44-year-old said Andrew was ‘legal’ when they first met and said she didn’t claim any Centrelink payments from Andrew or the other teenagers living under her roof, except for her own.
One mother shared a post to Facebook saying she was at her ‘wits end’ over Ms Atkinson buying her 15-year-old son cigarettes and fast food, building a friendship with him before encouraging him to leave home.
‘We found this scum bag to have seven teenagers all living with her and she was claiming Centrelink for all of them,’ the post read.
‘We didn’t allow smoking when she set the trap, so I think that’s where he basically fell into it,’ Andrew’s mother Suzy (right) told A Current Affair
When confronted by the program, Ms Atkinson said Andrew was ‘legal’ when they first met and denied any accusations of using other people’s Centrelink payments
However other parents have rallied against Ms Atkinson saying she manipulates their children
A worried mother shared messages between Ms Atkinson and her 15-year-old son (pictured) discussing buying cigarettes where the 44-year-old soon encouraged him to leave home
‘The living conditions were utter filth … they got kicked out of numerous places and would move from local hotel to hotel never paying,’ the mother wrote.
The worried mother claims her 15-year-old son lived with Ms Atkinson for months, until she saw her son at the local shops and was able to encourage him to come home.
‘She tried everything she could to get him back. Telling him she would buy him a new motorbike or get him as much alcohol as he wanted,’ the post read.
Wanting to warn other parents over Ms Atkinson, the concerned mother shared a conversation about buying tobacco between her 15-year-old son and the woman, which has been shared more than one thousand times.
The worried mother claims her 15-year-old son lived with Ms Atkinson for months, until she saw her son at the local shops and was able to encourage him to come home
‘She tried everything she could to get him back. Telling him she would buy him a new motorbike or get him as much alcohol as he wanted,’ the worried mother wrote on Facebook
‘Ok well hope u (sic) dont (sic) and u (sic) keeping well, we all miss u (sic),’ a message from Ms Atkinson told the 15-year-old boy said.
‘So u (sic) got yourself a new girlfreind (sic) mate,’ Ms Atkinson wrote.
The 15-year-old boy replied ‘no’ before Ms Atkinson responded saying she thought he ‘got with’ another girl.
The 44-year-old woman later tried calling the boy before he sent her a message saying his mother had gone to police and got a restraining order against her.
Ms Atkinson said she would ‘deal with it when it happens’.
A 16-year-old girl told A Current Affair she used to stay at Ms Atkinson’s house with her ex-boyfriend, however the 44-year-old tried claiming her Centrelink payments without her knowing.
When approached by the program, Ms Atkinson said the teenagers were all ‘well looked after’, admitting she bought them cigarettes but insisted she was not destroying families or using anyone else’s Centrelink benefits.