Lake Macquarie: Charlestown business owner charged over alleged $52k bushfire relief fund fraud

Police allege the woman fraudulently obtained $20,000, but had applied for a further $32,000.

The woman was arrested at Charlestown on Tuesday.

A Lake Macquarie woman has been charged after allegedly lodging a series of fraudulent claims for bushfire relief funds, totalling $52,000.

Strike Force Roche detectives were investigating the claims made through a 27-year-old woman’s Charlestown business.

The Kahibah woman was arrested on Tuesday and charged with two counts of dishonestly obtaining property by deception, and four counts of attempting to dishonestly obtain property by deception.

The woman allegedly fraudulently claimed bushfire relief funds through her business.

Police alleged the woman lodged several bushfire disaster relief claims, fraudulently obtaining $20,000.

They alleged she made four applications that were declined, totalling a further $32,000.

The woman was released on conditional bail to appear in Wellington Local Court on January 19.

The Lake Macquarie-based Strike Force Roche was set up to investigate the growing number of bushfire and COVID-19 grant fraud cases across the northern police region.

It’s been revealed close to $20 million had been handed out to alleged fraudsters accessing government relief payments.