Lockington fraudsters James and Yvonne Scott plead guilty to RT Edgar Portsea and WorkSafe rorts

A dodgy Lockington husband and wife team put each other in the frame when questioned about their Peninsula estate agent and WorkSafe scams.

James Scott and his wife pleaded guilty to multiple fraud charges. Facebook.

A scoundrel Lockington couple duped a Mornington Peninsula real estate agent and WorkSafe out of almost $900,000 while operating an animal supply business.

Yvonne Scott, 71, and James Scott, 78, both pleaded guilty in the County Court on Monday to multiple rolled-up theft and obtaining a financial advantage by deception charges.

The crooked husband and wife team stole $872,000 from their victims between January 2015 and October 2018.

Mrs Scott used her position as RT Edgar Portsea office manager to swindle $771,307 via 129 bogus transactions into bank accounts controlled by her and her husband

Mrs Scott, who had worked for RT Edgar since 2002, earned $163,225 while she performed her duties remotely at the couple’s Strathallan Rd property.

RT Edgar Portsea director Colin Anderson was tipped off to the rort by a WorkCover investigator who discovered “suspicious transactions”.

Mr Anderson ordered an internal audit before Mrs Scott was referred to police.

Mrs Scott was on the WorkCover radar after she claimed $101,000 in dodgy WorkSafe claims while working for RT Edgar and the couple’s Lockington Hooves & Paws business.

The scoundrel claimed she couldn’t work after suffering “anxiety and depression” while working for an events company.

Mrs Scott submitted 32 certificates signed off by her GP – who was not aware his patient was working – to ruse Allianz and WorkSafe into transferring her the dough.

The court was told Mr Scott helped her wife with the WorkCover claims.

WorkCover sent Mrs Scott a letter inviting her in for an interview but received no response.

Mrs Scott, who was interviewed by police in June last year, told investigators her husband “did most of the accounting work” since she left her events job in 2015.

Mrs Scott also denied working, telling police her husband did the work and she did “virtually nothing”.

Police quizzed Mrs Scott about the RT Edgar thefts but she “could not explain how this happened”.

Mr Scott, who was interviewed the same day, told police his wife had told him she had “done something bad” and “stolen money”.

Mr Scott claimed decisions about spending money were made “jointly” while admitting he “assisted” with the WorkCover claim.

Mr Scott said he knew about the WorkCover rort but “did nothing” because they "needed the money”.

He said he did the work for RT Edgar but his wife was involved in payments and “monitoring” company finances.

Mr Scott denied any knowledge of the RT Edgar rort, telling police he “never had any reason to question the money that was coming in”.

The matter was adjourned so the defence could seek additional material to support a claim Mrs Scott had mental health issues throughout the offending period.

Judge Trevor Wraight said prison terms were “inevitable for both”.

The Scotts will face court again at a later date.

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