Jody Thomson aka Jody Harris: Ex-con’s compo claim under investigation
Conwoman Jody Thomson faces a new investigation into whether she fraudulently obtained compensation from a minor car accident by concealing her extensive criminal history.
Convicted conwoman Jody Thomson faces a new investigation into whether she fraudulently obtained compensation from a minor car accident by concealing her criminal history.
Queensland Deputy Premier and Industrial Relations Minister Jarrod Bleijie at the weekend ordered his department to conduct “appropriate investigations” into Thomson’s WorkCover claim made just over five years ago.
The order followed revelations in The Weekend Australian that Thomson might have lied and concealed key facts when she convinced Queensland authorities she was partially and permanently incapacitated in a low-speed, low-impact bingle at an intersection.
Thomson, now 46, was dubbed the “Catch Me If You Can” fraudster after stealing the identities of women in three states and taunting police while using names including Jody Harris, with a judge once ruling she took pride in her ability to deceive.
She claimed she suffered whiplash and severe psychological trauma when a car in front of her twice reversed into her car when she was on her way to work in Brisbane in September 2019.
“Decisions on workers compensation claims are independent decisions made by WorkCover Queensland,” Mr Bleijie said on Sunday. “I have asked my department to make inquiries with WorkCover Queensland around this matter and undertake appropriate investigations.”
Criminal history checks would have uncovered Thomson’s long history of fraud, but those assessing her during her WorkCover compensation claim appear to have been unaware she had been repeatedly jailed for crimes of deception, The Weekend Australian revealed.
“She states she has never been charged with any offences. No family members have an offending history,” psychiatrist Hugh Levien wrote in an independent report on Thomson for WorkCover Queensland.
Dr Levien diagnosed Thomson as suffering an adjustment disorder from the accident.
Sentencing remarks obtained by The Australian show Thomson had been diagnosed with the same type of disorder when she was jailed for fraud in Victoria’s County Court in 2008, attributed to her mother being jailed when she was young.
Insiders say Thomson received a payout of more than $360,000, though this could not be verified.
Insurers are required by law to report without delay to the workers compensation regulator when they reasonably believe a person may have committed an offence against workers’ compensation laws for investigation.
A report can also be made to the regulator, part of the office of industrial relations, when any other person believes an offence may have been committed under workers compensation laws.
Defrauding WorkCover carries a maximum five-year jail sentence, and providing false or misleading documents carries a one-year maximum sentence.
The Weekend Australian Magazine revealed in November that Thomson had become one of the nation’s most active online fundraisers for charitable causes, while failing to publicly declare her extensive history of fraud.
That article led to a separate, ongoing investigation by Queensland’s Office of Fair Trading into whether Thomson was fundraising illegally through her business Dreamtime Aroha or misusing donations. She has denied wrongdoing, saying she has been crime-free for many years.
In an extraordinary development, a trove of secret documents relating to Thomson’s compensation case arrived in the mail at the home of one of her most strident critics, Aboriginal activist Regina Bonner-Moran, accompanied by a copy of the magazine story.
Thomson also sued the other driver alleged to have been involved in the accident and insurer AAI Ltd, trading as Suncorp Insurance, in Queensland’s Supreme Court.
Regulator guidelines state that prosecutions “serve as a strong deterrent against potential offenders and help to preserve the integrity of the workers’ compensation scheme”. There must be sufficient evidence and public interest reasons to prosecute.
Thomson and her legal representatives did not respond to questions from The Australian, but on Friday she posted to her followers on social media that since being released from prison, she had been the victim of media and public harassment.
“Time passes but one thing I can assure you is this when you have been incarcerated YOU WILL pay for the rest of your life in (one) way or another, no redemption, no apology and no doing good will be enough for SOME!” she wrote.
“So surround yourself with your people! And that’s ok you have to take the highs with the lows, I’m 47yo this year and out of farks tbh but just a thought coming in to 2025 DO BETTER & BE BETTER!”
The post included a brief timeline of her past, starting with her mother, Debbie Kilroy, and stepfather, former rugby league star Joe Kilroy, being jailed for drug trafficking in 1989 when she was 11. Ms Kilroy went on to become a lawyer and founded prisoner support charity Sisters Inside.
Thomson by age 16 she as on the streets, and at 18 went to an adult jail. In the years that followed she was “lost to the system, lost to my family & I’ll never be able to make amends”.
Her last arrest was in 2006, at age 30, and in 2011 she “returned home”, having been released from prison.
“2011 to 2015 I am constantly reminded by people online, media and complete strangers that I ain’t shit that I deserve to be ‘punished’ further, despite the years that have passed.”
In another social media post at the weekend, she told her followers that doxxing was “the act of revealing personal information about someone online without their consent” and was an offence with a maximum penalty of six years’ jail.
Victorian County Court judge Felicity Hampel said when sentencing Thomson in 2008: “Your interview makes it clear you took pride in the audacity of your activity, that you revelled in the publicity and that you used the money and credit to provide yourself with a profligate and ostentatiously luxurious lifestyle.”
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