Fraudster mum, 35, who rorted more than $26,000 from Centrelink breaks down in tears as she's jailed for nine months
- Melka Jane Krunes fleeced $26,018 over the space of nearly seven years
- She was serving a good behaviour bond for scamming social security benefits
- The mother-of-one was paid more than $70,000 after making 156 false reports
- On 16 occasions she told Centrelink she had no income, despite working
A mother who rorted more than $26,000 from Centrelink broke down in tears while being jailed for nine months.
Melka Jane Krunes, 35, from Mount Louisa in Townsville, swindled $26,018 from the government agency over the space of nearly seven years.
Krunes was already serving a three-year good behaviour bond for scamming social security benefits when she fraudulently received more money from 2011 until 2017.
The mother-of-one was paid more than $70,000 after making 156 false reports to Centrelink, the Courier Mail reported.
Melka Jane Krunes, 35, from Mount Louisa in Townsville, swindled $26,018 from the government agency over the space of nearly seven years
On 16 occasions Krunes declared having no income, despite working at least four different jobs.
But in May 2016, the Australian Tax Office detected Krunes' fraudulent activities.
She declined to take part in a recorded interview as part of their 2018 investigation.
Krunes pleaded guilty to three fraud charges at Townsville Magistrates Court on Thursday.
Federal prosecutor Catherine Ferguson told the court that offences of this nature are 'serious, prevalent and relatively easy to commit.'
'The social security system relies upon the honesty of recipients because a stricter scheme … would be enormously expensive and would delay payments to genuine applicants,' she said.
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Krunes' defence lawyer Phil Rennick said she paid back all the fraudulent money, and argued against jail time as she is the primary carer for her daughter and mother who suffers from chronic depression.
But Magistrate Viviana Keegan said the public needed to be made aware of the tough consequences of rorting the system for financial gain.
'You're stealing from every taxpayer in the country and diverting resources away from people that genuinely need them,' Ms Keegan said.
Krunes cried in her mother's arms while being sentenced to nine months behind bars.
However she will be released after just three months.
She was also ordered to repay $2,000 and given a three-year good behaviour bond.
On 16 occasions, the mother-of-one told Centrelink she had no income, despite working at least four different jobs
