Grandma who faked blindness in Centrelink scam | A Current Affair

well she's the last person you'd suspect of being a criminal mastermind but grandmother Rebecca se is the brains behind a lucrative welfare fraud that lasted decades and made her a fortune hello Rebecca you've been up to your old schemes again haven't you shut up crooks come in all shapes sizes and ages like Grandma Rebecca a see while you're hard at work paying taxes this 62 year old is stealing them big time if you're stealing from welfare you're stealing from your fellow Australians cheated on welfare since 1990 while running a how to wrought Centrelink school for other fraudsters and when police finally came knocking they found nearly a quarter of a million dollars in cash in her Housing Commission home that's the home you're paying her latest incredible fraud in a moment but first a recap behold you're watching a modern-day miracle for 21 years Rebecca received the disability pension claiming she was blind it's a gift from me to you you don't need it no she never had a white cane while taking sunny walks with family and friends operating the mobile phone getting in the car emptying the garbage she did it all yes she even had a driver's license no Kane no seeing-eye dog no glasses you've done remarkably well for someone who is blind and let me repeat that 21 years she claimed the Disability Support pension thanks to you you senior doctors in Lebanon told you that you were permanently blind but it was a hopeless place is it hopeless no it was a little tougher here but after an initial Ozzie knock back she shopped around and eventually found a doc who said she was blind you're right walking back yes Rebecca had been having a lend of us but now a bigger rought has been uncovered since I reported that first blindsiding of US taxpayers without the shackles of blindness Rebecca has not a care in the world and is ready for another big day out possibly buying a toothbrush because she's facing time in the slammer for this latest indiscretion you see Rebecca has just pleaded guilty to dealing with money reasonably believed to be the proceeds of crime and conspiring with others to ripoff centerlink the center link sheet worked hand-in-hand with her now dead husband jamala Lally on quite a scheme their modest public housing abode doubled as a tape for tricksters the pair would complete center line forms for fraudsters giving them advice on seeking out doctors who would turn a blind eye to their cheating ways sometimes she'd even go to the doctor's with them in case the GP asks too many questions this woman was a star student after graduating with a fistful of Rebecca ideas she told centerlink her daughter had ADHD when the child didn't and subsequently got 66 grand in payments we have seen organized criminals ripping off money in the childcare sector ripping off money from the government in their fault from their fellow Australians Minister for Social Services Paul Fletcher points out the repercussions these gangs have on all of us every dollar that goes to somebody who's not entitled to it is a dollar that could be used to put vital life-saving drugs out of the pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme but back to Rebecca who didn't have a hankering for a Big Mac but she didn't mind their toilets here she would meet her centerlink frauding students away from prying eyes after giving them the fraudulent advice they needed she demanded from them a kilo and a half of sweet grapes perhaps two kilos no not real grapes that was code a kilo and a half was $1,500 two kilos was two grand you see the cops were listening in and they soon discovered what all the code words meant when the federal police came knocking they found five different mobile phones she used to communicate with her customers and in that bedroom they found a safe with more than two hundred and forty four thousand dollars cash inside and the you know what hit the fan at number five so just as well she bought the 18 pack wherever there is a big pot of money you're going to find people working in the shadows in an organized way criminals going after that money with 180 billion being spent on welfare Minister for Human Services Michael Keenan says the government is prosecuting people such as this greedy granny like never before in the last four years we've managed to save three billion dollars that's because we ramped up our compliance efforts when we came to office in the end federal agents worked out as these students defrauded taxpayers of just over a hundred and thirty seven thousand dollars at least six of her students have been charged and two jailed Rebecca can you hear me last time you were blind are you deaf and dumb now hello can you hear me she'll soon be hearing a magistrate though currently on bail she's yet to find out her fate from masterminding her latest scheme we'll find you we'll catch you will prosecute you and you may well get a job but in the meantime she continues to live in her publicly funded home Rebecca Essie will be sentenced in July

Channel: A Current Affair

Views: 241,046

Keywords: 60 minutes, nine news, ACA, 9news, centrelink fraud cases, Tracey, 9news australia, australian news, scammer, 60 minutes australia, A Current Affair, fake blind, centrelink, centrelink fraud, Politics, dole bludgers, Celebrity, dole bludgers australia, breaking news, Tracy Grimshaw, scammer caught, A Current Affair Australia, True Crime, Interviews, 9 News, Entertainment

Id: ZsR-VCF06LA

Length: 7min 2sec (422 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 29 2019