CDPP successfully prosecutes fraudulent claims for Queensland disaster relief payments

Publisher
Commonwealth Department of Public Prosecutions
Date published
August 2024

Relevant impacts: Human impact, Government outcomes impact, Security impact, Financial impact.

A Queensland man has plead guilty to 5 offences of defrauding the Commonwealth of $94,777.82 by fraudulently claiming disaster recovery payments. He was sentenced of 4 years’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 21 months. The court also made a reparation order for the outstanding debt of $93,641.10.

Between 11 May 2017 and 16 May 2019, Mr Henery Baranaba Nghath of Redbank QLD defrauded Services Australia (Centrelink) of 116 payments of social security benefits paid in relation to fraudulent claims for the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP).

Mr Nghath created 66 false identities and assumed the identities of 17 existing Centrelink recipients to submit the fraudulent AGDRP claims. He also assumed the identities of 11 existing Centrelink recipients for the redirected payments.

At the time of the Mr Nghath’s arrest on 17 May 2019, he was found in possession of 289 items of identification information in the names of identities other than his own. These identification documents were obtained through his employment at Sunshine Coast College of Management.

Access the source

Related fraudster personas

The Fabricator

The Fabricator invents or produces something that is false to dishonestly gain personal benefits.

The Impersonator

The Impersonator pretends they are another person or entity to dishonestly gain personal benefits.

The Deceiver

The Deceiver makes others believe something that is not true to dishonestly gain personal benefits.

Related countermeasures

Collaborate with strategic partners

Collaborate with strategic partners such as other government entities, committees, working groups and taskforces. This allows you to share capability, information and intelligence and to prevent and disrupt fraud.

Deterrence messaging

Providing clear statements and communications on entity practices to detect and respond to fraud can discourage fraudulent or corrupt activities. Staff and clients will be less able to rationalise or justify fraudulent or corrupt conduct when informed of the outcomes of fraud.

Clear and specific eligibility requirements

Clear eligibility requirements and only approve requests or claims that meet the criteria. This can include internal requests for staff access to systems or information.

Confirm identity

Confirm the identity or attribute of the individual. Evidence of identity should be collected and verified using policies, rules, processes and systems to make sure only known, authorised identities can gain access to information stored in networks and systems.

Authenticate identity

Authenticate customer or third-party identities during each interaction to confirm the person owns the identity record they are trying to access.

Unique identifiers

Create and use unique and random identifiers to avoid misuse, such as: unique and random account numbers, claim references or asset numbers.

Watchlists

Create lists to quickly compare information to automate or require further actions.

Verify information

Verify any requests or claim information you receive with an independent and credible source.

Reconcile records

Reconcile records to make sure that 2 sets of records (usually the balances of 2 accounts) match. Reconciling records and accounts can detect if something is different from what is standard, normal, or expected, which may indicate fraud.

Activity reporting

Prepare summary reports on activities for clients, managers or responsible staff.

Investigate fraud

 Investigate fraud in line with the Australian Government Investigation Standards (AGIS).

Submit a case study

We'd like to hear from you if you have a case study to share.

Submit your case study

Was this page helpful?