Dole bludger mum Jade Cheasley stole 100k from Centrelink, blew cash on holidays, parties
A dole-bludging Craigieburn mum who owned two investment properties, a house and a boat stole more than $100,000 from Centrelink which she splashed on international travel, parties and a family trip to Movie World.
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A dole-bludging mum who owned a house, two investment properties, cars and even a boat fleeced $100,000 off Centrelink to fund a lavish lifestyle of travel and parties.
Jade Cheasley, 31, pleaded guilty in the County Court on Tuesday to dishonestly cause a loss to a Commonwealth.
Cheasley stole $102,086.55 in parenting payment benefits she was never entitled to between March 2013 and May 2018.
Cheasley lied to Centrelink, claiming she had split up with her husband David Cheasley and was in financial hardship.
She told Centrelink she was living in her car, had tried to get food parcels for her children, claimed her dad was a “verbally abusive” alcoholic and said she had nowhere else to go.
In reality, Cheasley was living with her husband and their kids at their $565,000 Craigieburn home.
The couple also owned a $125,000 investment property at Murchison East and later bought a $870,000 house in Wandong.
The family moved into the Wandong house while renting out their Craigieburn property for $22,500 a year.
Cheasley made insurance claims on two properties and cancelled a claim for a “stolen” phone after it was “recovered”.
Cheasley jointly held two business accounts linked to her husband’s company Lifestyle Roofing Pty Ltd.
He earned $226,000 a year from the company which had a yearly turnover of more than $300,000.
The couple owned another $780,000 in assets including cars, savings and a boat, which was covered by comprehensive insurance.
In February 2014, the couple spent their wedding anniversary at plush city hotel The Langham.
Cheasley took her family to the Gold Coast in early-2015 for an action-packed trip which included a visit to Movie World.
Later that year, the jetsetting couple took their children on a 12-day holiday to Honolulu.
In November 2015, Cheasley threw a lavish “surprise” 40th birthday party for her husband at the Craigieburn Sporting Club.
Cheasley’s deception was uncovered by the Department of Human Services in June 2017 after the department received “tip offs from the public”.
Investigators sifted through “thousands” of text messages between Cheasley and her husband including some which uncovered how she kept her devious ruse going.
These messages included:
“Centerlink [sic] think we are seperated [sic] not the courts. There is a difference.”
“What would you do if I didn’t lie to Centrelink and you had to support me?!”
“Call them back please and let me know what they said. If it’s child support we aren’t together remember.”
Cheasley pocketed her ill-gotten cash until investigators raided her home in May 2018.
Cheasley, who also pleaded guilty to two counts of giving false or misleading information, had her bail extended to next front Judge Mark Dean on August 28.
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