Cops charged over alleged $15,000 deception

Two Victorian police officers face court over alleged $15,000 fraud during Covid-19 lockdowns.

Victorian police officers face charges. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

Two Victoria Police officers are facing dozens of fraud and deception charges after allegedly claiming thousands of dollars for work they never performed, including during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Suspended leading senior constables Peter Patrick White, 54, and Jaclyn Cushen, 44, both appeared at the Broadmeadows Magistrates’ Court this month accused of pocketing nearly $15,000 through dishonest claims.

The allegations surfaced following an internal investigation by the Professional Standards Command Investigations Department, which uncovered a pattern of deceptive claims of wage payments.

Some of the alleged offending took place during the draconian Covid-19 lockdowns in 2021, when former premier Daniel Andrews announced the fifth lockdown on July 15.

Charge sheets released to The Australian reveal Mr White faces 18 counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception, with police alleging he fraudulently claimed a total of $9,979 between April 2021 and December 2022.

Among the charges, he is accused of dishonestly receiving four payments of more than $500 on July 15 2021, the first day of Victoria’s fifth lockdown, and another $515.96 on August 12, during the state’s sixth and final lockdown.

Mr White allegedly claimed $2162,06 on July 15 alone.

Between March 2022 and December 2022, he allegedly claimed $6382,94.

Similarly, Ms Cushen is charged with nine counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception, where she allegedly claimed $4,995 between January 2021 and September 2022. It includes $1,123.93 in payments made between August 26 and September 9 2021, during the state’s sixth lockdown.

“The accused at Hadfield between 26/08/2021 and 09/09/2021 dishonestly obtained for herself a financial advantage namely $536.43 in wage payments from Victoria Police, by deception namely fraudulently claiming she had undertaken duties relating to her employment with Victoria Police,” the charge sheet states.

They are both represented by one of Melbourne’s top criminal law firms Tony Hargreaves and Partners and will contest the charges ahead of a potential trial. Picture: NewsWire / Nadir Kinani

The Australian is not suggesting both of the accused are known to each other and it’s unclear what the money they allegedly claimed was used for at this stage.

Both Ms Cushen and Mr White allegedly committed the offences in Hadfield, approximately 12km north of Melbourne’s CBD. They are both represented by one of Melbourne’s top criminal law firms Tony Hargreaves and Partners and will contest the charges ahead of a potential trial.

The matter was adjourned for a mention hearing at the Broadmeadows Magistrates’ Court on April 10 2025.

Under Section 82 of the Crimes Act, a person who is found guilty of dishonestly obtaining for himself any financial advantage by deception is liable to level 5 imprisonment (10 years maximum).

Data from the County Court of Victoria show 154 people had been sentenced for financial deception between 2018 and 2022, with 101 people being imprisoned.

This case is among the latest to hit Victoria Police officers. Last year, The Australian revealed some 78 Victoria Police officers and Protective Service Officers were facing criminal charges and traffic offences, with a disturbing number relating to serious sex offences including rape, sexual assault and indecent acts against children including possessing and producing child pornography. 26 of those offenders were leading senior constables.

The Herald Sun last week reported that Victoria Police’s Sexual Offences and Family Violence Unit (SOFVU) has investigated more than 680 of its own officers in the last five years - an average of almost 140 a year and up to three a week.

Almost 270 of SOFVU’s investigations looked into claims against officers that alleged predatory behaviour, sexual harassment or inappropriate comments.