A WEST Tamworth couple have been caught lying about flood water entering their home, and mould growing in the walls in applications for disaster recovery payments.
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Wayne Lee Parker and Krystle Ann Dick pleaded guilty in Tamworth Local Court to separate charges of receiving financial advantage from a Commonwealth agency, after they lodged false and misleading applications for flood recovery payments.
The couple were staying at a resort in Wyong when they made claims to Services Australia the room they had been living in for about nine months was damaged from flood waters.
The court heard Parker, who was 39 years old at the time, was granted $2000 worth of flood recovery payments after submitting applications in March and July in 2022, which he knew he was not eligible for.
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Court documents show Parker, who is facing two counts of gaining a financial advantage, made claims flood water had entered the Wyong home which had caused $10,000 worth of damage.
"I am stranded outside an impacted area and unable to return to my home," Parker wrote in an application submitted in July.
On the same day, Dick, who was 36 years old at the time of the offence, submitted a separate application for the disaster recovery payment for the same Wyong address.
She was granted a $1000 flood payment after she claimed mould from flood water had started to grow in the walls and ceilings of the home.
"Due to the flood waters across the roads or damage to the roads I am unable to leave my home," she wrote in the application.
Court documents reveal separate interviews with the resort property manager and the resort caretaker show no rooms or furniture have been damaged from fires or floods in the last five years.
Parker and Dick were charged after they received separate letters from Services Australia in December, inviting them to participate in a formal interview, but no interviews took place.
The matters were adjourned for sentencing next month.
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Tess Kelly
Tess Kelly is a journalist at the Northern Daily Leader, reporting mostly on court, while keeping tabs on all the happenings of the region. Story tips can be sent to tess.kelly@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Tess Kelly is a journalist at the Northern Daily Leader, reporting mostly on court, while keeping tabs on all the happenings of the region. Story tips can be sent to tess.kelly@austcommunitymedia.com.au
