Four men charged over $1m in fraudulent Covid grant claims as NSW crackdown tops $8m in alleged fraud
Police have charged four men accused of orchestrating a large-scale fraud syndicate targeting government Covid relief grants.
NSW
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An alleged criminal syndicate is accused of stealing $1-million in fake Covid-19 grant claims after four men were hit with more than 200 charges as part of an ongoing $8 million fraud investigation across NSW.
The four men were arrested on Wednesday during coordinated raids carried out by Financial Crimes Squad detectives.
The group was collectively hit with 215 charges.
Police will allege the group was involved in systematically submitting false applications to exploit financial support schemes.
Just after 6am, officers arrested a 47-year-old man in Roselands, who was taken to Campsie Police Station and charged with dealing with the proceeds of crime; obtaining financial advantage by deception and participating in a crimnal group.
He was refused bail to appear in Bankstown Local Court the same day.
About 90 minutes later, a 44-year-old man was arrested in Yennora.
He was taken to Fairfield Police Station and charged with 21 fraud-related offences and participating in a criminal group. He was also refused bail and appeared in court the same day.
A 32-year-old man was arrested at 7.55am in Wiley Park where he was taken to Bankstown Police Station and charged with 92 offences, including directing a criminal group. He was bail refused and appeared in Bankstown Local Court.
The final arrest took place about 9.50am in Green Valley, where a 39-year-old man was taken into custody and charged with 102 offences — also including directing a criminal group.
He was refused bail to appear in Liverpool Local Court on Thursday.
It will be alleged in court this syndicate made fraudulent claims worth $1 million.
The arrests were made under Strike Force Sainsbery — an investigation targeting fraudulent claims made against NSW Government relief programs introduced during the pandemic and recent natural disasters.
The strike Force was established in 2021 and so far has laid a total of 1782 charges against 108 people for fraudulent claims worth approximately $8m.
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