Former government contractor facing charges over alleged fine fraud scam
A former government contractor is facing hundreds of charges for allegedly accepting money to alter driving fines, some of which may be linked to bikie gangs and Middle Eastern organised crime.
Victoria
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Driving fines and demerit points imposed on organised crime were allegedly redirected to people overseas in a sophisticated rort involving thousands of infringements.
Two women have been charged over the scam involving people offshore and some fictitious identities being falsely nominated as the law-breaking drivers instead of the real culprit.
Among those police say took advantage of up to 2500 false declarations were bikies and Middle-Eastern organised crime figures.
It is expected that the hundreds of individual drivers and motorcyclists who benefited from the scam will come under scrutiny as the Echo Taskforce investigation rolls on.
The Herald Sun has been told the rort spread by word of mouth.
A former government contractor, Tyler Garth, 25, is facing hundreds of charges after she allegedly received payments to manipulate and reissue infringements while she was working for a VicRoads contractor involved in fine enforcement between January 2021 and February 2022.
She briefly appeared in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, where Detective Senior Constable Rhett Killeen revealed up to 2500 fines could be affected.
Police allege some of those who received the penalty notices were connected to outlaw bikie gangs and Middle Eastern organised crime.
The detective said the 292 charges Ms Garth was currently facing stemmed from two “criminal associates” but the investigation was ongoing and she could face further charges.
“Charges could potentially range in the thousands,” he said.
He said police were in the process of analysing seized mobile phones which would take time.
Ms Garth, from Greenvale, is also accused of conducting unauthorised checks of a VicRoads database and disclosing sensitive information to others.
She is facing charges including misconduct in public office, perverting the course of justice, obtaining financial advantage by deception and unauthorised access to restricted data.
After the hearing, Ms Garth changed clothing and wrapped herself in a grey scarf before she bolted to a convenience store where she hid behind a counter for about 15 minutes.
She exited the store after complaints from staff before sprinting across busy William St while a cameraman gave chase.
The court earlier heard she worked for the third party contractor from February 2018 until she was sacked last July.
Police seized several electronic devices, cash, a samurai sword and drugs from a home in Greenvale on June 24.
A 22-year-old woman and an 18-year-old man were arrested in Westmeadows last Thursday as part of the investigation, but were released pending further inquiries.
During that search, police seized electronic devices, an air rifle, gel blaster firearm and nunchucks.
Ms Garth will return to court later this month.
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