Angela Rose fakes cancer to dodge court after $250,000 Medicare fraud

A former GP clinic employee who used patient and doctor records to claim false Medicare payments went to extreme lengths to avoid court. Find out what happened.

A former medical employee pretended to have cancer to avoid facing court after she claimed more than $250,000 in false Medicare payments.

Southport District Court was told Angela Rose, 45, held administrative roles at four medical practices on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane between March, 2016, and April, 2017.

Employed at each clinic for no more than about eight weeks, Rose was able to access doctor and patient details along with specialised practice management systems.

Prosecutor Fiona Albert said Rose used personal information belonging to 379 patients and 12 doctors to lodge 1395 false Medicare claims.

She said the Gold Coast woman was able to defraud $253,224.85 before being caught.

“These fraudulent claims were only detected after a complaint from a former employer,” Ms Albert said.

“The complaint was made after a patient attending the service had a Medicare claim denied, as all her visits to her psychologist had already been claimed before.”

Ms Albert said Rose’s offending could be condensed to six months within the total 18-month period due to the gaps in her employment.

She said Rose claimed almost $10,000 a week in fraudulent funds in that six months.

The court was told Rose then went to extreme lengths last year to delay being sentenced.

Ms Albert said she forged two medical certificates under the names of doctors she had previously worked with, claiming she needed an adjournment while receiving treatment for breast cancer.

A subsequent investigation by Queensland Health revealed Rose had never been diagnosed with or treated for the disease.

The court was told Rose had previously been convicted of fraud and theft, and was on bail for other offences when she made most of the fake Medicare claims.

Defence barrister James Grehan said Rose’s conduct was largely driven by substance abuse and gambling issues, on which she spent most of the fraudulent funds.

He said his client’s drastic attempt to avoid court was ironic, as she suffered a uterine condition and needed to have an ovary removed weeks after submitting the second fake certificate.

“It clearly seems as though she would benefit from a longer period of supervision in the community, and she has taken those steps to get into a rehabilitation facility when she is finally released,” Mr Grehan said.

“That will give her the skills she needs to avoid relapsing into drug and alcohol abuse.”

Judge Rowan Jackson said he could see how substance abuse and a marriage breakdown contributed to Rose’s offending, but no personal issues could excuse it.

“They are not crimes that can be regarded as victimless crimes – they’re an erosion of taxpayer-funded assets,” Judge Jackson said.

“It’s very clear that you have serious problems with alcohol, illicit drugs, and gambling, and (your psychologist) makes plain that you have to do something about that.”

Rose pleaded guilty to four counts of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage and two of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

She was sentenced to four years’ jail with a non-parole period of 18 months, from which her time already served will be deducted.

Rose was also ordered to pay full reparations to the government.