Mardi: Hairdresser Carly Fay Love appeals sentence for defrauding $15k in Covid payments

A hairdresser who fraudulently applied for government Covid grants worth $15,000 has had her community service hours slashed on appeal because Mondays don’t suit, a court has heard.

Hairdresser Carly Love leaving Gosford District Court where she had her community service hours reduced after pleading guilty to defrauding Covid Jobsaver payments. Picture: NewsLocal

A hairdresser who pleaded guilty to ripping off taxpayers to the tune of $15,000 has appealed the severity of her sentence because she felt the community service hours were “excessive” and interrupted her only day off.

Carly Fay Love, of Mardi, represented herself at Gosford District Court on Tuesday where she appealed the severity of the sentence she received in Wyong Local Court in June.

The 36-year-old was sentenced to an intensive corrections order (ICO) for 15 months after pleading guilty to one count of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception.

Conditions of the ICO included that she abstain from alcohol and illicit drugs, continue with a mental health plan and perform 150 hours of community service.

Hairdresser Carly Love leaving Gosford District Court where she had her community service hours reduced after pleading guilty to defrauding Covid Jobsaver payments. Picture: NewsLocal

However Love told the District Court she lodged the appeal because her lawyer at the time told her the community service component was excessive and she “only had Mondays off work” in order to do things.

She said she was also going to provide bone marrow for her brother’s transplant requirement on Mondays but he had since died.

The court heard Love had previous drug and fraud-related convictions on her record.

Love told the court she worked Tuesday to Saturday for her sister’s Berkeley Vale hair salon and was advised by Community and Corrections officers she could not change her community service hours to another day other than Monday.

An agreed set of facts states Love applied online to Service NSW in September 2021 for a Covid Jobsaver grant and used an Australian Business Number registered in her name but which had expired and lied about her eligibility.

She received a $3000 payment into her NAB account which she transferred into another linked account.

Love fraudulently claimed $15,000 in Covid payments. Picture: NewsLocal

The facts state she made a second fraudulent application in September and was paid a further $12,000 which she also transferred into another linked account.

The facts state officers then “made numerous attempts to contact the accused” for a formal interview including leaving voicemails, text messages and attending her address but it appeared Love was “avoiding police”.

However the court heard she was later arrested and spent 68 days in custody before being released on bail.

Judge Alistair Abadee said the Covid payments were introduced to assist with a “once in a century pandemic” and “white collar fraud” undermined public confidence.

“This is not a victimless crime,” he said.

However Judge Abadee said he accepted Love had made “genuine efforts towards rehabilitation” and given she had spent just over two months in jail, agreed to reduce her community service component to 80 hours.