Army vet Glynn Middleton pleads guilty in court to faking train injury for $220k compensation payout
An army veteran managed to swindle more than $220,000 from the Transport Accident Commission with a fake train injury hoax, despite CCTV footage proving an incident never occurred.
South East
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An army veteran conned more than $220,000 in compensation payments from the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) after falsely claiming he was injured on his daily train commute to work.
Glynn Middleton, 60, pleaded guilty to several counts of obtain property by deception and one count of perjury in the County Court of Victoria on Thursday.
Middleton, who was working for Glad Security at the time, filed a report to Metro Trains that he injured his back when his train suddenly came to a halt on the morning on September 5 2017.
In this report, the army veteran claimed as the train left Epping station, it suddenly stopped, jolting Middleton and another passenger into the chairs in front of them.
He claimed during the sudden stop, he injured his back.
Metro trains reviewed the CCTV footage of the incident, which depicted both the train on the platform and Middleton inside the carriage, and determined no safety incident had occurred.
The footage showed Middleton entering the carriage, sitting down, putting his feet up on the seat to tie a shoe lace and then sitting stationary for his journey.
In 2018, Middleton applied for TAC compensation for his back injury from the fake train halt.
On a signed affidavit to the TAC, Middleton wrote he was “thrown across seats” when the train came to a “violent and shuddering halt” causing him to go “somersaulting”.
Over two years, Middleton was paid more than $220,000 by the TAC for loss of earnings and medical expenses relating to his back injury.
In November 2020, the TAC opened an investigation into these payments after Middleton returned to work.
While investigating, the TAC found the CCTV footage and handed the fraud matter to police.
Also uncovered during the investigation were several doctors’ visits Middleton made before and after he alleged he was injured on the train.
One month before he faked the train injury, Middleton reported back pain to doctors after he fell over in his Epping home.
Around the time of the incident, Middleton went to the doctor for his erectile dysfunction and did not mention any back pain.
Fifteen days after he claimed the train incident occurred, Middleton told his doctors he tripped at home in the shower, before changing his story again months later to telling doctors he hurt his back after he fell on a train.
On Thursday, Middleton, who has since moved to Cranbourne, was sentenced to a three year and six month community corrections order.
The compensation Middleton is required to pay back to the TAC will be determined at a later date.
