Vanessa Housego jailed for her involvement in a multimillion scheme

A Queensland mother of four who claims she was scammed after developing a romantic relationship on an online dating site has been jailed for her involvement in a money laundering scheme and Back to Work scheme fraud.

A former business owner has been sentenced to jail for her involvement in a ‘Back to Work’ scheme fraud.

A former business owner and mother of four has been sentenced in Bundaberg District Court following significant fraud and money laundering charges.

Vanessa Housego pleaded guilty on an attempted fraud charge after the 65 year old attempted to claim public funds in her position as a takeaway outlet operator at River Way Burgers.

These fraudulent attempts took place eight days after Ms Housego was formally cautioned by Queensland police after a mysterious sum of $17,000 was transferred to her personal account in December 2019.

Between January 4 and March 6, 2020, the former fast-food operator was found to have misappropriated personal information from five of her employees in an attempt to claim a total sum of $93,750 dollars from a government funded “Back to Work” scheme.

In three out of the five applications submitted by Ms Housego, it was found that employee consent forms had been signed with forged signatures, while all five applications had obvious discrepancies in employee wages, pay slips and working hours and were found to be fraudulent.

The court heard one of the victims, who was just 16 at the time, was directed by her boss, Ms Housego to lie to Fair Work investigators that she was her daughter and undertaking work experience with her.

In addition to these charges, Ms Housego, was found guilty for her involvement in a money laundering scheme that the mother of four claims as evidence of a scam she fell victim to.

Between June 12, 2020 and January 20, 2023, a period of which Ms Housego was out on bail for separate crimes, was involved in what she described to police as an investment opportunity presented to her by a man she developed a romantic relationship with on Plenty of Fish, an online dating site.

When interviewed by police on March 9, 2023, Ms Housego claimed that she managed funds belonging to two individuals, whom she later accepted as the same person.

At the bequest of these men, large sums of money were supposedly transferred into various investment plans, one of which was described as a housing scheme valued at $US5.2 million,

Ms Housego claimed that her understanding of the operation was limited to transferring funds she believed to be legitimate and in turn share the remaining capital with the man she met online as compensation.

Judge Michael Byrne noted that while at one stage $114,900 was deposited into her personal account from an unknown source, $81,430 of which was transferred into various crypto accounts, Ms Housego was not “living the high life”.

Judge Byrne ruled that it was Ms Housego’s “consistent dishonesty” that made in his “view a period of actual incarceration the appropriate term”.

The mother of four was sentenced to a total of four years and will be eligible for March 5, 2025, after serving 4 months.

Originally published as Vanessa Housego jailed for her involvement in a multimillion scheme