Keith Charles Riley, formerly of Coonabarabran but currently serving jail time at Cooma, pleaded guilty to two fraud-related charges in court this morning after making two false Centrelink claims, one in 2012 and one in 2013.

Riley, 32, first claimed $1,000 in Commonwealth funding after claiming he was significantly affected by the Moree floods of January and February 2012. He was actually serving jail time at Cessnock for the duration of that natural disaster. Queanbeyan Magistrate Chris Bone said it was ‘breathtaking’ that Riley had made a successful disaster relief claim.

“To apply for this when you’re actually in jail and get away with it…I’m not sure I can think of a word to describe that,” he said.

“Maybe ‘breathtaking’ is the word I’m looking for.

“The defendant was in one of the safest places in NSW at the time of the floods, he was in jail at Cessnock.

“And as soon as he got out, he made a natural disaster relief claim and was successful.”

Riley made the successful claim over the phone from Sydney in April 2012, shortly after he was released from jail. He attempted the feat again in early 2013, seeking bushfire relief funding in relation to the Wambelong bushfires in the state’s north west. Riley told Centrelink operators he was a Coonabarabran farmer who’d lost buildings on his farm in the fires. However the address he provided proved to be incorrect, sparking an investigation and the subsequent criminal charges.

His solicitor, Rosemary Benet, said Riley had been in the grips of a serious heroin addiction at the time of the offences.

“That habit certainly affected his judgement at the time of these offences,” she said.

Riley appeared in the dock at court and is currently incarcerated at Cooma in relation to other offences.

However Magistrate Bone added an additional three months to his jail time as a result of these offences, to be served concurrently.

“It’s taking ‘cheat’ to the ultimate degree to apply for a flood relief benefit when you’re actually 500 kilometres away in jail,” the magistrate said.

“We don’t have bottomless pits of money in this country for people who want to take advantage of these schemes.”

Riley was also ordered to repay Centrelink the money he received once he’s released from jail.

The Department of Human Services has paid out over 145,000 natural disaster relief claims since January 2013, with only a small number of potentially fraudulent claims identified, eight of which were referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Centrelink general manager Hank Jongen said the schemes were overwhelmingly being accessed by people in genuine need.

“The Department of Human Services knows the vast majority of people who claim disaster assistance are honest in their dealings with us and are in urgent need of help,” Mr Jongen said.

“Our priority is to ensure that the people affected by a disaster are supported and have access to Australian Government payments as soon as possible.

“Unfortunately, there are a small number of people who will sometimes try to exploit a disaster situation,” he said.

Anyone with information about potential incorrectly-claimed disaster payments is encouraged to call the Australian Government Services Fraud Tip-off Line on 131 524, or visit humanservices.gov.au.