Bankstown doctor George Abou-Hatoum charged over dodgy medical certificates
A well-known Bankstown GP has been charged with producing dodgy medical certificates as part of an organised third-party insurance fraud syndicate — a scam which has racked up a combined total of nearly $17 million.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Claims doctors did boob jobs after one weekend of lessons
- Inside the 24 hour, secret Sydney bunker watching ex-cons
A well-known Bankstown GP has been charged with producing dodgy medical certificates as part of an organised third-party insurance fraud syndicate.
Dr George Abou-Hatoum, 50, is the latest person to be arrested by detectives with Strike Force Ravens which was set up to investigate CTP fraud and which has so far charged 37 people with a total of 217 offences in relation to a combined fraud of nearly $17 million.
Police will allege that Dr Hatoum, who works at Bankstown Medical Centre, created fraudulent medical records and certificates that were subsequently submitted as part of CTP insurance fraud after staged vehicle crashes.
It is also alleged he produced false medical certificates for university students to evade fees under the NSW Government’s student visa training scheme.
He has been charged with attempt dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception, conspire with other to cheat and defraud and make false document to obtain financial advantage.
He was charged on Thursday, a day after police charged alleged syndicate ringleader Mohammad Lawabnih, 46, of Bass Hill.
Police said they will allege in court that Lawabnih co-ordinated the supply of fraudulent medical certificates which were submitted as part of the CTP insurance and university fee claims.
Lawabnih was alleged in a police statement of facts tendered to Downing Centre Local Court in March this year to “have extensive ties with plaintiff lawyers, doctors and others which he uses to facilitate fraudulent and embellished insurance claims among other things”.
The two arrests follow the seizure of documents and electronic storage devices in raids on properties including Hatoum’s medical practice in April this year.
Lawabnih has been charged with make false document to obtain financial advantage, use false document to obtain financial advantage, attempt to dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception and conspire with other to cheat and defraud.
“As part of ongoing inquiries, strike force investigators received information that a university had received false medical certificates, which were suspected to be attempts to evade fees under the NSW Government’s student visa training scheme,” police said in a statement today.
“Similar medical certificates were also suspected of being submitted for fraudulent CTP insurance claims.”
Strike Force Ravens, set up by the State Crime Command’s Financial Crimes Squad after the State Insurance Regulatory Authority noticed a spike in third-party claims in August 2016, has uncovered a number of third party crime syndicates across Sydney’s west.
It has already resulted in a number of people being jailed including Iraqi Thamer Ari, who set up fake crashes including one involving a minibus full of 12 refugees he met as an asylum-seeker on Christmas Island in 2013. Ari is not linked to the arrests of Hatoum and Lawabnih.
Hatoum and Lawabnih were both granted strict conditional bail to appeal at Bankstown Local Court on July 22.
A Bankstown physiotherapist, Mohammad Edelbi, 35, was jailed for three years with a minimum of two years in May in the District Court after pleading guilty to 36 charges of issuing fake invoices for treatment used in dodgy CTP claims and for being a member of a criminal group.
Edelbi was director of the Bankstown Physiotherapy Rehab Centre.
The CTP Task Force is a NSW Government initiative co-ordinated by the State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA), involving representatives from various government agencies and legal, health, and insurance sectors.
Minister Customer Service Victor Dominello said that while the days of CTP fraud thankfully now appear to be behind us, this prosecution is a reminder of how bad things got under the old Labor scheme.
“The new CTP scheme, which has now been in place for two and a half years, has greatly reduced the risk of fraud and exaggerated claims,” Mr Dominello said.
“As a result NSW motorists have seen the statewide average premium drop by $148, from a high of $635 in mid-2016.”