Susan Martin charged with $850k fraud following investigation into fatal house fire

Police investigating a fatal house fire in southwest Sydney allegedly uncovered a large-scale fraud racket, worth an estimated $850k. A woman is facing 93 charges.

Detectives arrest Susan Martin at her Macquarie Fields home on Wednesday. Picture: NSW Police

A police investigation into a woman’s alleged threats before a fatal house fire that claimed the life of a 14-year-old boy has uncovered her alleged involvement in a government fraud racket worth an estimated $850,000.

Susan Martin faced Campbelltown Local Court on Thursday on 93 charges stemming from a months-long investigation that began in June last year after 14-year-old Tahma Teara Jones was killed in a house fire at Macquarie Fields.

Documents tendered to the court said Tahma was asleep in an upstairs bedroom in the Montana Way property when it was set alight in the early hours of June 29 last year, just three hours after Martin was allegedly overheard threatening to set fire to the home during a street brawl between neighbours.

Police will allege Martin, who lives a few streets away from the scene, yelled “I’ll burn your house to the f..king ground” during the fight.

Martin is not accused of lighting the fatal fire and has not been charged with any arson-related offences.

Tahma Teara Jones died when a deliberately lit fire ...

... tore through a home at Macquarie Fields last year.

Court documents said Arson Squad detectives launched Strike Force Tedsa to investigate the fire and its surrounding circumstances, and identified Martin as a person of interest.

During a subsequent investigation, officers allegedly discovered that Martin had committed large-scale fraud in which she allegedly used false and forged documents to access hundreds of thousands of dollars in NSW government grants.

The court heard police will allege Martin, who is unemployed and on Centrelink benefits, pocketed between $500,000 and $850,000 as a result of the alleged scam.

Officers raided Martin’s NSW Housing property on Wednesday, allegedly seizing an Audi S5, numerous mobile phones, multiple SIM cards, multiple computers, tablets and hard-drive devices, identification documents, mail and receipts in various names and fraud-related documents, including a blank birth certificate template.

They also arrested a 42-year-old man at a property at Lurnea.

Martin was charged with 93 offences and remanded in custody to front court on Thursday.

Susan Martin was taken to Campbelltown Police Station and charged with 93 offences. Picture: NSW Police

She sought release on bail, with her lawyer Gary Anderson saying she had stable accommodation, a limited criminal record, and needed to be at liberty to receive treatment for various mental health conditions, including borderline personality disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Although the matters before the court are serious … she’s entitled to the presumption (of innocence),” Mr Anderson said.

Police opposed the application, arguing there was a mountain of carefully curated evidence that made the case against Martin “simply overwhelming”.

In the court documents, investigators allege Martin was “prolific in committing fraud”.

“She has instructed and shown several associates on how to commit various frauds against the ATO, Service NSW and Service Australia,” officers alleged in the court papers.

“She has doctored documents, created false identifications, and ported mobile numbers to assist her and others in fraudulent activity.”

Investigators allege Martin used forged documents in court to support an application for a change to her bail conditions on another set of charges, and at one stage allegedly provided a fake COVID-19 certificate to get out of a court appearance.

Magistrate Paul Lyon refused to grant Martin bail, saying on the allegations before him the court would have no confidence she would not commit further offences if released.

Martin will remain in custody over Christmas and front court again on January 25.

Got a news tip? Email [e-mail]