First JobKeeper fraudster convicted
Date published
February 2021
Relevant impacts: Government outcomes impact
A Melbourne man fraudulently applied for and lodged 2 months' worth of JobKeeper claims.
The man falsely claimed that he was a sole trader, had experienced a downturn of 30% for May and June 2020 and met all other requirements for the JobKeeper payment. Despite declaring the claim was true and correct, the man was not operating a genuine business and had already been nominated by his employer for the allowance.
The man was convicted of 3 counts of making false and misleading statements. He was fined $3,000 and ordered to repay $3,282.
Related fraudster personas
Related countermeasures
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.
Analyse data to improve processes and controls, increase payment accuracy and find and prevent non-compliance, fraud and corruption.
Verify any requests or claim information you receive with an independent and credible source.
Match data with the authoritative source and verify relevant details or supporting evidence.
Services such as the Identity Matching Service can be used to verify identity credentials back to the authoritative source when the information is an Australian or state and territory government issued identity credential.
This countermeasure is supported by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner's Guidelines on data matching in Australian government administration.
Require clients, staff and third parties to have ongoing compliance, performance and contract reviews.
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