Cancer conwoman Hanna Dickenson jailed over disability pension fraud

First she duped her parents into thinking she had cancer. Now she’s been caught faking cancer again to rort $100,000 in disability payments.

Hanna Dickenson has been jailed for further deceptive offending.

Despicable conwoman Hanna Dickenson has been jailed yet again after she duped more than $100,000 from the public purse with her cancer lies.

So sophisticated was her deceitful plan, the Ballarat farm girl turned narcissistic Melbourne party girl provided mock doctor’s reports of her supposed terminal diagnosis to the Commonwealth to collect the disability support pension.

She received $100,232.73 from January 2014 to October 2018.

Sentencing her to two years and six months jail on Tuesday, County Court Judge Sarah Dawes labelled the serial fraudster’s conduct “gravely dishonest”.

“I consider your conduct disgraceful — you had no legitimate entitlement to any of these funds,” Judge Dawes said.

Hanna Dickenson will remain behind bars for another year.

“This was a sustained and deliberate fraud against the social welfare system. It was motivated by greed.

“Frauds of this nature create a heavy burden for taxpayers and the community as a whole.”

Judge Dawes said the offending only ended when Dickenson, 27, was caught — and had continued while she was on bail and a community correction order for similar offending.

“Your history of deception is extensive,” Judge Dawes said.

It is Dickenson’s third prosecution for deceptive conduct since 2018 when she was jailed for three months for duping her parents and the local community into believing she had cancer and needed money for lifesaving treatment overseas.

But the $42,000 that was rallied together for her was instead blown on partying, alcohol, drugs and holidays.

Dickenson appealed her jail term to the County Court and was given a chance on a two-year community correction order.

But she breached it, going on to nick client’s overpaid rent and bonds, totalling $10,168, while working as a property manager at Little Real Estate.

Dickenson admitted she was manipulative and enjoyed the adrenaline rush of her offending.

She was also found to have committed identity fraud, using the details of one of her vulnerable clients while working as an employment consultant to try and secure a $30,000 car loan.

In February this year, she was jailed for three months for the further offending, but on appeal in June she was given no further chances and sent to jail for eight months.

That same month she was charged over the pension fraud.

She pleaded guilty to dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years jail.

The court heard Dickenson had admitted she could be manipulative and enjoyed the adrenaline rush that came with her deceptive offending.

Her explanation for what she did was she had fantasised about being a millionaire, and wanted to party hard, live an extravagant lifestyle and try to maintain friends.

Judge Dawes said she was entitled to a discounted sentence for her early plea and the fact she had voluntarily started paying the money back, with $8000 already returned.

She also said Dickenson’s moral culpability was reduced as she had borderline and narcissistic personality disorders.

Dickenson was ordered to serve only one year of the jail term imposed, before she will be released on a recognisance order where she has promised to be of good behaviour for three years.

She was due for release in January, but with the latest sentence, she will now have to stay behind bars until at least November next year.

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