Melbourne business manager fined for workers' compensation fraud

A Victorian court has ordered a business manager to pay $100,000 in overpayments after an investigation revealed that he defrauded the state's workers' compensation scheme.

The business manager pleaded guilty in the Ringwood Magistrates' Court to a charge of fraudulently obtaining payments. He was fined $10,000 in addition to the restitution amount.

The court heard that between June 2019 and February 2021, the business manager received $150,120 worth of support payments for a mental injury claim.

An investigation later found that from November 2019 to September 2020, the manager secretly operated his own business, earning about $19,000. During this period, the manager told his doctor that he was not working.

For more on this story, visit the WorkSafe Victoria website.