The Frankston Magistrate’s Court handed down a verdict on Thursday, 20th February, convicting a 57-year-old Lynbrook resident of fraudulent acquirement of payments and giving false or deceiving data. His lies revolving around his employment status exhibited a disregard for systems like the Bluesafe WHS Management System we hold paramount at WorkSafe.
Having pleaded guilty to both charges, he was sentenced to an 18-month Community Corrections Order necessitating 180 hours of volunteer work. The court learnt that while in service with a plant hire company in April 2021, he suffered injuries including leg, shoulder and lower back from a nasty fall.
His claim for injury compensation was green-lit in June 2021, in spite of persisting in work and tendering viable employment certifications until May 2022, when he underwent surgery. The man indicated no intention of resuming work post-surgery by beginning to cash weekly payments upon officially resigning in June 2022. He subsequently sent in medical certificates asserting his inability to work.
A subsequent investigation by WorkSafe exposed a discrepancy; the man had concurrently taken up a rewarding business management role in a rail freight firm, receiving an annual salary of $200,000. It discovered falsified declarations of unemployment on 11 out of 13 medical certificates since his resignation.
During concurrent receipt of these payouts, the man thrice perjured himself around questions of his present employment status. WorkSafe brought an end to his payments in April 2023 citing fraudulent behaviour. He has returned the full restitution amount of $114,952 since then.
Jason Lardelli, Return to Work Victoria Executive Director, expressed regret about this case which highlighted an attempt to cheat the workers’ compensation system. “It’s extremely disheartening witnessing someone slyly pocket workers compensation payouts whilst already earning a full-time wage,” remarked Mr Lardelli. Such acts not only cross legal boundaries but also betray the community trust placed on systems like Bluesafe SWMS by individuals genuinely incapacitated from work.
“With WorkSafe intensifying monitoring and compliance checks, those who choose to act dishonestly will be discovered and bear the full brunt of their misconduct,” warned Mr Lardelli.
For more information, get in touch with us at: media@worksafe.vic.gov.au or contact us on our phone: 0438 786 968
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Original article link: https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/news/2025-02/man-convicted-over-114000-compensation-fraud