Tony William Payne sentenced for WorkCover fraud

A Coolum father has breathed a sigh of relief after he avoided jail time for trying to defraud WorkCover of nearly $1m, a court has heard.

A Coolum father has avoided jail time for trying to defraud WorkCover of nearly $1m, a court has heard.

Tony William Payne was sentenced to a nine-month suspended jail sentence on Thursday after he pleaded guilty to one count of defrauding an insurer and another count of attempting to defraud an insurer.

The court heard the Coolum man successfully defrauded approximately $1855 between July 7, 2020 and August 17, 2020 and attempted to swindle a further $946,000 from WorkCover in September, 2020.

WorkCover prosecutor Thea Hadok-Quadrio relied on written submissions but suggested a 12-month prison sentence could be suspended.

Solicitor Jacob Pruden described the father of two as an “Aussie battler”.

“He has certainty made some serious errors of judgment in relation to this offending, but when the court takes into account his character before this offending and what he has done with his time subsequently to it the court can see generally he has led a positive, lawful and productive life,” he said.

He said Payne had been receiving legitimate WorkCover for an injury sustained at work for two years, two months and eight days when he committed the fraud of $1855.

“There was obviously some overlap between him working under his Australian Business Number and still being in receipt of compensation, that was for 39 days,” Mr Pruden said.

He said of the 39 days Payne only “physically worked” for four days and received an income of $1330 before tax.

Tony William Payne was sentenced to a nine-month suspended sentence on Thursday after he pleaded guilty to one count of defrauding and insurer and another count of attempting to defraud an insurer. Picture: Social media

Mr Pruden said Payne, who had entered an early plea of guilty, had paid back the fraudulent compensation.

He said Payne’s attempted fraud that followed was “unsophisticated and doomed to have been discovered”.

“Once it was made known to him that he was being prosecuted he made direct contact with the solicitor for the insurer to discuss how he could make matters right,” he said.

Mr Pruden said negotiations with the WorkCover Prosecutions Unit resulted in five charges being dropped and the amount of fraudulent funds being reduced by 50 per cent.

The court heard the two charges encompassed the entire criminality of the offending.

He said Payne was unlikely to reoffend and suggested a combination of community service and a significant fine.

“These would be a real punishment for Mr Payne,” he said.

Mr Pruden said a conviction would impact Mr Payne’s social and economic welfare and asked for it not to be recorded.

Magistrate Haydn Stjernqvist described the offences as “very serious” and said actual prison time wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.

“These offences are very prevalent … and difficult to detect,” he said.

Mr Stjernqvist said Payne was lucky to have been found out and subsequently charged with attempted fraud.

He said Mr Pruden’s suggested sentence didn’t reflect the seriousness of the offending.

Mr Stjernqvist imposed the suspended prison sentence for 18 months.

Payne was ordered to pay $2500.