Centrelink fraudster sentenced

Craig Joseph Stevens, 32, pleaded guilty to one charge of obtaining a financial advantage by deception.

The ACT Magistrates Court heard Stevens was willing to repay the money but had already run up previous debts to Centrelink and was still paying them off.

The court heard Stevens falsely claimed benefit payments over a five-month period in 2009 and then again between March and May 2010.

Although he earned a total of $21,000, he told authorities he was not working and received NewStart payments of $7188.

Defence lawyer Jan De Bruin told the court his client was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident in 2003 and had been unable to work.

He said Stevens and his partner had been struggling to make ends meet when he fraudulently claimed payments and the man had since realised he had done the wrong thing. Mr De Bruin said he was extremely remorseful for his actions and had stopped drinking alcohol, which he believed to be a factor in his offending.

But the Commonwealth prosecution said Stevens had never disclosed the fraud, which was only discovered when data from Centrelink was matched to information from the Australian Taxation Office.

It was argued that the crime was serious and Stevens should be made to repay the debt.

Magistrate Peter Morrison told Stevens crimes such as his were easy to commit and difficult to detect.

''That offending … calls for a strong message of general deterrence,'' he said.

But he noted the man had good prospects of rehabilitation.

Colonel Morrison convicted Stevens and sentenced him to three months in jail, fully suspended, and placed him on a 12-month good-behaviour order with supervision.

He also ordered him to repay $7188 to the Commonwealth.