Tiffany-Anne Brislane-Brown guilty of defrauding NSW Government bushfire grants scheme
She’s known for her “trailer trash” mugshot, calling out Newcastle police when they posted an unflattering mugshot of her on Facebook, but now she’s facing more serious charges of defrauding a NSW Government agency.
Newcastle
Don't miss out on the headlines from Newcastle. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Mercedes driver crashes, allegedly nearly six times over the limit
- Woman on murder charge awaits Supreme Court bail decision
A Hunter woman — well-known for calling out Newcastle Police for posting a “trailer trash” mugshot of her on their Facebook - has now pleaded guilty to defrauding a NSW Government agency out of tens of thousands of dollars.
Tiffany-Anne Brislane-Brown, 23, pleaded guilty to six counts of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception at Belmont Local Court on Wednesday.
Police facts detailed how Brislane-Brown used different bank accounts, emails and phone numbers to scam Service NSW out of $60,000, claiming she was a business that had been affected by the bushfires.
She made 24 applications during April and May for the small business bushfire/COVID-19 $10,000 grant scheme, a NSW Government grant assisting small businesses which have experienced a significant decline in revenue in bushfire affected areas.
Each application used a distinct ABN, with eight of them registered outside NSW but provided addresses that were all in South Kempsey and Port Macquarie.
She was caught by Lake Macquarie Police, who established Operation Coins to investigate a group of offenders who were committing fraud against Service NSW.
On April 30, Brislane-Brown was arrested and charged on unrelated matters before being questioned about the fraud.
According to police facts, a forensic examination of her phone revealed her involvement, and also showed receipts from Service NSW for payments into accounts of 10 other people which are now subject to further investigation.
Brislane-Brown - who is at Silverwater women’s prison - didn’t appear via video link on Wednesday, with her matters adjourned until later this month.
In January, Brislane-Brown took aim at Newcastle Police when they posted an unflattering photo of her on their Facebook page when she was wanted on a warrant for stealing offences.
“Loving the photo taken how many years ago,” she hit back at the haters on the post.
“Let’s calm down on the comments guys. It’s not everyday I look like trailer trash. Let’s just say it wasn’t a good angle, shall we.”
And with that she posted a more recent photo complete with filters.
“This is not my current Newcastle police page photo they’ve decided to upload from 2015,” she wrote.
“But anyway thanks for the upload on a breech (sic) of community services, gronks.
“Here’s an actual pic of me.”