A FORMER Mount Gambier man who drastically under-declared his total gross income to Services Australia more than 100 times has received a term of imprisonment.
Adrian Lee Cameron, 44, appeared in the Adelaide District Court on June 12 to be sentenced for six counts of obtaining a financial advantage by deception.
The court heard the offending was committed between September 27, 2011 and April 12, 2017, which spanned over 143 fortnights with Cameron receiving a total financial advantage of $75,698.
During that time the defendant was in receipt of Newstart or Austudy allowance.
Cameron committed the crimes by either falsely declaring the amount of his income from employment as a traffic controller or failing to declare his income to Services Australia, which is formerly the Department of Human Services.
During the offending period, the court heard the defendant falsely recorded his income on 106 separate occasions either via phone, online or in person.
The reports comprise of 72 false nil declarations of income and 34 false under-declarations of income.
The offending was detected after a tip-off in June 2016, which resulted in the department reviewing the defendant’s entitlements.
The defendant was born and raised in Mount Gambier and moved to Adelaide at 23 years of age.
It was revealed the father of four admitted the offending started because he was confused and eventually became a habit.
Judge Liesl Chapman said Cameron was paid weekly as a traffic controller but his Centrelink benefit was paid fortnightly, which resulted his pay cycle being out of sync with his Centrelink cycle.
The court heard the defendant had shown remorse and admitted his actions were committed out of stupidity.
“You say it goes against every value and moral that had been instilled into you whilst you were growing up,” Judge Chapman said.
“Despite those sentiments, you had not made any significant reparation. You have only changed that tune in the last four weeks.
“As unbelievable as it sounds, despite owing the Commonwealth about $75,000 you have been on JobSeeker payments for a month or so.”
After revealing Cameron had told his lawyer he was not in the position to pay his legal fees, Judge Chapman said there was no doubt a term of imprisonment was warranted.
“Even if I were to accept you were initially confused about your obligation, I do not accept for a moment that confusion remained.
“You were more than content for over five years to receive money from the government to which you were not entitled.”
Judge Chapman sentenced the defendant to a term of imprisonment of two years, but ordered Cameron to be released on a two-year good behaviour bond after 12 months.
He was also ordered to repay Services Australia $74,981.84.
