Australia. Criminals rorting millions from welfare system from behind bars
More than 20,000 jailed criminals have been busted illegally claiming a total of more than $16.5 million in taxpayer-funded benefits.
The Herald Sun can reveal the federal government has been conducting sweeps of the nation’s prisons over the past four years to identify those criminals receiving benefits behind bars. It already costs taxpayers $110,000 to keep one prisoner locked up for a year.
While inside, they are not allowed to receive welfare payments — but many fail to inform Centrelink that they have been locked up. A jail source said welfare rorts had been a prison “tradition” for decades.
Fake identities have been used to claim tens of thousands of dollars in welfare payments, and some have improperly cashed in on disability and unemployment benefits.
Read more @Herald Sun
