Fake teacher’s Officeworks dash to make sham documents

A woman who lied about being a teacher tried to hide her deception from her boss by concocting this elaborate ruse.

A woman rushed to Officeworks to make a fake ID card to try and convince others she was a teacher. Picture: Stuart Milligan

An early childhood worker who lied about being a qualified teacher rushed to buy a printer at Officeworks to make fake documents in a desperate bid to cover up her fraud.

Bethany Stilo, 37, made fake qualifications by copying templates from the teaching watchdog website, changing the name to her own and inventing a registration number, a court heard.

But by the time she presented her fraudulent registration card to her employer, Link Health and Community, her lie had unravelled.

Ms Stilo pleaded guilty to one count of holding herself out to be a registered early childhood teacher and received a fine without conviction on November 6.

The Magistrates Court heard that Ms Stilo, who had certificates and diplomas in childhood services, responded to an advertisement on Seek for a job at the NDIS partner agency, in 2017.

She received a call from a recruitment company, which “suggested to her to add a bachelor qualification to her resume,” Ms Stilo’s defence lawyer Abbie Roodenburg told the court. “Even though she wasn’t qualified?” questioned Magistrate Andrew McKenna.

The fake teacher said when she was asked for proof and “she really panicked”. Picture: iStock

Ms Stilo, through her lawyer, claimed she didn’t know she needed a teacher registration for the practitioner role in early childhood early intervention.

But after 18 months in the job, she was asked for proof and “she really panicked”.

After claiming her registration card was at Chisholm Institute, where she taught a class one day a week, the court heard Ms Stilo sought to create one.

“She took a snapshot of the VIT (Victorian Institute of Teaching) card on the website and changed the name and number,” Ms Roodenburg said.

She then searched on the internet how to create a fake card, found Officeworks sold a printer that made them, bought the printer and presented the card to her employer the next day.

By that time, her fraud had been exposed and she then resigned.

But Magistrate McKenna said Ms Stilo allowed her employer to believe she was appropriately qualified and her creation of fraudulent documents was done with “some sophistication”.

“It seems to me only when the scrutiny became obvious to her … that she effectively conceded her position and offered to resign,” he said.

“She still was willing to tough it out in an attempt to con the relevant agencies.”

Magistrate McKenna said there were “charlatans” in the community who worked as doctors and lawyers without qualification and “purport to be something they’re not”.

He said deterrence was “most significant” but chose not to record a conviction by a “very, very slender margin” due to Ms Stilo’s guilty plea.

She was handed a $1200 fine and costs of $84.40, to be paid within 30 days.

Chisholm Institute confirmed Ms Stilo did not need a teaching registration or Bachelor of Education to teach its students.

@ashargoon