NDIS fraudster Paul Kevan Tilbury spent $400,000 on clothes, jewellery and expensive Japanese meals, court told

His business was called “People Come First”, but a judge says this NDIS fraudster put himself first – to the tune of $400,000 in jewellery, clothing and alcohol.

 

An NDIS fraudster who spent more than $400,000 on a luxury lifestyle, while falsely portraying himself as a doctor, claims he was trying to keep his business afloat – and a judge says he is “not buying it”.

On Friday, District Court Judge Paul Muscat said Paul Kevan Tilbury would have to take the stand and give sworn evidence if he wanted his incredulous claims to be taken seriously.

He said that, in the space of just two years, Tilbury had taken money intended for 19 of his NDIS clients and purchased:

CLOTHING worth $30,000

TOBACCO worth $11,500

JEWELLERY worth $10,000

ALCOHOL worth $7000

TRAVEL and accommodation worth $7500

A HOME bar worth $5000 – and a further $3500 to have it installed

FLOWERS worth $4000

A JAPANESE meal, at a Melbourne restaurant, worth $3500

Paul Kevan Tilbury outside court. Picture: NCA NewsWire

“His business was called ‘People Come First’ which is an unusual name when, on the facts of the case, it should have been ‘I Come First’,” Judge Muscat said.

“There’s a large element of greed, from what I’ve read (in the evidence) … this is a man who was saying the business was struggling and he wanted to keep it afloat.

“I’m not buying any of this … he needs to give evidence, he needs to explain it all – if he can.”

Tilbury, 57, of Woodforde, pleaded guilty to 19 counts of deception, having submitted $404,000 in false NDIS claims between 2017 and 2019.

He faces a maximum 10-year sentence per charge, and has already been banned for life from operating as an NDIS provider.

On Thursday, the court heard victim impact statements from two of the people who were supposed to receive the benefit of the money Tilbury spent on himself.

They said they felt “betrayed” and no longer trusted the NDIS or individual providers, fearing they would be “taken advantage of” once again.

One victim, whose son relies on the scheme, said she felt “guilt and shame” that Tilbury had deceived her, and worried she had failed as a mother.

A judge says he is “not buying” Paul Tilbury’s explanation for his offending. Picture: Supplied

A Federal prosecutor asked Tilbury receive a custodial sentence, saying his deceitful actions extended past his financial fraud.

“One of his character references, to this court, refers to him as ‘Dr Tilbury’ … there’s no evidence he’s a medical doctor or has a PhD,” she said.

“However there are multiple instances, in the evidence, of him holding himself out as either ‘Dr Tilbury’ or ‘Professor Tilbury’.”

James Caldicott, for Tilbury, said there was an explanation – but not an excuse – for that behaviour.

“Mr Tilbury had begun studying a doctorate at the University of Western Sydney, and was in the middle of it,” he said.

Judge Muscat said he was “not buying that for a second”, either.

“He’s not a doctor and he knew it … that’s going to affect his credibility when he gives evidence,” he said.

He remanded Tilbury to face court again in February.

The content summaries were created with the assistance of AI technology, then edited and approved for publication by an editor.