Two women arrested in Sydney for defrauding family day care. (photo by Australian News Network)
Two Sydney women were arrested last night for allegedly defrauding family day-care (family daycare) subsidies for up to A $5.7 million, Australian News reported. They had previously claimed to have admitted more than 1600 children in a month.
Last night, federal police raided five properties in (Kellyville) and (Lakemba) in Kellyville. Two women, aged 28 and 31, were arrested. 31-year-old woman was charged with illegal handling of more than A $1 million in criminal proceeds; A 28-year-old woman was charged with illegally dealing with more than A $ one hundred thousand in criminal proceeds.
One of the properties that the police raided had previously been investigated for involvement in terrorism financing. Fafas Media reported that the so-called "day-care agency" defrauded child-care subsidies to fund terrorism. Two men were charged with fraud as a result.
Acting Federal Police Commander Ferry (Kate Ferry) said: "We will claim in court that the group" methodically "enrol more than 1600 children, reaching the maximum number allowed for family day-care services. Then apply for full benefits for each child. "the authorities will not tolerate such greed." He said。
It is reported that two female suspects will appear in Sydney Central District Court (Central Local Court) today. If they plead guilty, they face 20 to 25 years in prison.
The federal education secretary, Birmingham (Simon Birmingham), said 24 people had been accused of defrauding child care benefits since the beginning of 2014, nearly half had been convicted, and the rest of the suspects were still awaiting trial.
