Criminals rorting millions from welfare system from behind bars
VICTORIAN prisoners are embroiled in a major nationwide investigation of welfare rorts behind bars. More than 20,000 jailed criminals have been busted illegally claiming a total of more than $16.5 million in taxpayer-funded benefits.
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VICTORIAN prisoners are embroiled in a major nationwide investigation of welfare rorts behind bars.
More than 20,000 jailed criminals have been busted illegally claiming a total of more than $16.5 million in taxpayer-funded benefits.
The Herald Sun can reveal the federal government has been conducting sweeps of the nation’s prisons over the past four years to identify those criminals receiving benefits behind bars.
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It already costs taxpayers $110,000 to keep one prisoner locked up for a year.
While inside, they are not allowed to receive welfare payments — but many fail to inform Centrelink that they have been locked up.
A jail source said welfare rorts had been a prison “tradition” for decades.
Fake identities have been used to claim tens of thousands of dollars in welfare payments, and some have improperly cashed in on disability and unemployment benefits.
Corrections sources say some swindlers have even claimed carer’s payments from jail.
One criminal linked to a rip-off ring in a Victorian jail is said to have scooped up more than $100,000.
Some of those under the microscope had a record of welfare fraud.
The four-year crackdown has identified nearly 21,000 prisoners, some of whom gave fake names and birthdates to try to keep cashing in on welfare payments while in jail.
One Victorian prisoner used a fake identity to claim $35,000 in age pension payments before being busted last year. Another Victorian inmate, using an alias, racked up $30,000 in disability benefits.
A criminal who was repeatedly jailed in New South Wales over eight years managed to receive $60,000 of a disability support pension before being caught.
The federal government has partnered with state correctional authorities in using data-matching technology to weed out the frauds.
Manual checks of welfare records have also been increased to catch prisoners who give fake identification details.
Federal Human Services Minister Alan Tudge said many inmates went to “extraordinary lengths to get payments they are not entitled to”.
“Right across the board, we are tightening the welfare system to catch those who are ripping off the taxpayer,” Mr Tudge told the Herald Sun.
“Due to the increasing sophistication of our data-matching capabilities, we are catching these crooks.
“Those who deliberately rip off the system won’t get away with it,” Mr Tudge said.
Almost 5000 cases worth $3.2 million were identified in the past financial year, 87 per cent of which were discovered within two weeks of the overpayment occurring.
Originally published as Criminals rorting millions from welfare system from behind bars