A former prison officer from South Australia who fraudulently claimed more than $90,000 in disability payments was given a two-year home detention sentence.
Kristin Danger entered a guilty plea to one count of receiving a pecuniary benefit by fraud while working for the Department of Correctional Services of South Australia.
While employed at Mobilong Prison from February 2017 to December 2020, the 47-year-old made bogus claims totaling $93,567 from the disability assistance pension.
As he delivered his ruling in Adelaide’s District Court, Judge Michael Durrant stated that Danger’s offence “harmed the whole community because the disability support pension exists to help those in need.”
“This type of offending is difficult to detect, and it diverts limited resources from that purpose into prevention and prosecution,” stated Judge Durrant.
Danger had been receiving disability assistance payments since 2004, but the court was informed that when she began working 70 hours per fortnight as a prison guard, she lost her eligibility.
Judge Durrant stated, “When you got that job, you admitted to corrections that you would work 38 hours a week and that you had no disability or medical condition that prevented you from working.”
“You were required to notify Centrelink of a change in circumstances, but you failed to do so regarding your employment, hours, or income.”
Danger “would not have stopped” if you hadn’t been discovered by the Australian Taxation Office, according to Judge Durrant.
Given her prior status, the court previously heard that Danger might be at “heightened risk of harm” if she were to be imprisoned.
According to a psychology evaluation, Danger had made significant strides in improving her mental health and was not at high risk of committing new crimes.
Judge Durrant decided that strict home detention was an appropriate sentence after acknowledging Danger’s sincere contrition.
“Your personal circumstances are deserving of some sympathy, and your lack of antecedence [prior offending] and otherwise good character are relevant notwithstanding, that is not uncommon in cases like this,” he stated.
Danger still owes $91,000 despite having subsequently given the commonwealth $10,000 in compensation, plus court costs.
The maximum sentence for dishonestly using fraud to acquire a financial benefit from a Commonwealth entity is ten years in prison.
