Couple Stuart Rob Allan, Rebecca Jane Allan blame trauma after being found guilty of 2019 bushfire grant fraud

An East Lismore couple found guilty of fraudulently receiving more than $75,000 in bushfire grants have blamed the trauma of losing their business and property.

Rebecca Jane Allan and Stuart Rob Allan outside court.

An East Lismore couple who wrongfully obtained state government bushfire grant money have blamed the trauma of losing their property and business.

The fraud by Stuart Rob Allan, 38, and Rebecca Jane Allan, 37, following the 2019 bushfires was described as “unplanned” and “unsophisticated” in Ballina Local Court.

The couple faced Magistrate Geoffrey Hiatt in the court on Monday for the second part of their sentencing hearing.

The parents of four children pleaded not guilty, but were found guilty of two dozen charges between them, including fraud and weapons offences, at the conclusion of a hearing earlier this year.

Stuart Rob Allan and Rebecca Jane Allan outside the court for a prior appearance.

The couple lost cattle in the bushfires, but were pinged for wrongfully obtaining more than $75,000 of bushfire aid directed at the Casino region.

The court heard they claimed they lost more cattle than they owned and funds were transferred between bank accounts and to auctioneers for the purchase of collectable coins.

Richmond Police Rural Crime Prevention Team seized the coins, weapons and documentation from the couple when they raided an East Lismore property on December 15, 2020, under Strike Force Munyana.

Defence lawyer Harry Maarraoui, representing Ms Allan, told the court his client was part of a cattle breeding operation the couple built up before drought and the subsequent bushfires.

Mr Maarraoui said the offending occurred while the couple faced “real hardship”, including from the Covid pandemic.

He said it had been five years since the offending and the couple have not reoffended.

The court heard the couple faced “extreme pressure” and remained under “significant financial stress”.

Richmond Police Rural Crime Prevention Team seized collectable coins, weapons and documentation from the couplewhen they raided an East Lismore property on December 15, 2020, under Strike Force Munyana.

Mr Maarraoui said Ms Allan had no prior criminal history and the offending was not “an egregious breach”, or sustained.

“It is troubling she’d engage in this behaviour but it was against a traumatic background of drought and fires,” he said.

The court heard the couple had legitimate policies in place for their cattle breeding operation.

Mr Maarraoui told the court the offending “wasn’t planned” was not “opportunistic” and was “unsophisticated”.

“ … now they have nothing left to what they did have prior to the fires,” the lawyer said.

“You're not sentencing the same person who committed offences five years ago. She is trying to re-establish her life away from cattle breeding.”

Mr Maarraoui painted a picture of Ms Allan as a hardworking mum of four who also cared for her in-laws as she juggled casual work.

He said the family has been “significantly impacted” by a move from Casino to Lismore.

The lawyer asked the court to consider a community correction order and fines rather than a prison term due to the mental health of his client and to keep the family together.

Mr Allan’s lawyer Stephen Bolt echoed Mr Maarraoui’s sentiments and that the offending occurred as the couple were struggling following the natural disaster and pandemic.

Some costs were awarded to the couple for delays in the case and a number of charges were withdrawn, the court heard.

Mr Hiatt adjourned his judgement to December 18.

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