Couple punished for false carer claims
Following an audit by the Audit & Compliance Unit of the Ministry of Health an Auckland couple were today sentenced in the Waitakere District Court after earlier pleading guilty to making false claims for carer support for their disabled child.
The couple, Marcus Rhind, and Hayley Dawson defrauded the health system of $25,726 by dishoneslty claiming carer support payments. Parents, step-parents and adoptive parents are not able to claim for care they provide. Mr Rhind and Ms Dawson had claimed carer support payments for their son from October 2003 until January 2010 when the Ministry of Health picked up anomalies with their claims as part of a routine audit.
Mr Rhind pleaded guilty to 19 charges of Dishonestly using a Document to obtain pecuniary advantage and was sentenced to six months imprisonment.
Ms Dawson pleaded guilty to a charge of Dishonestly using a Document to obtain pecuniary advantage and was sentenced to six months' community detention, with a curfew from 8pm to 7am, seven days per week, and conditions requiring her to attend various counselling programmes as required by Probation Services; 18 months' intensive supervision on the conditions set out in her pre-sentence report; and to pay reparation of $12,863.25, being half the amount requested by the Ministry of Health, payable in instalments of $45 per week.
Carer support is a subsidy funded by the Ministry of Health and District Health Boards. The payments are designed to assist the unpaid full time carer of a person with a disability to take a break from caring for that person.
Michael Moore, National Risk Manager of the Audit & Compliance Unit of the Ministry of Health, said such offending diverted funds from families who have a real need for carer support.
“While it's good news that this couple was caught out, it's disappointing that yet again, we have an example of people ripping the system off while others miss out. The Audit & Compliance team is determined to uncover any individual who defrauds the system. This conviction shows that fraudulent claims will not be tolerated.
"There are monitoring and audit processes in place and where we suspect the misuse of funds, we will investigate and prosecute to ensure that the offenders are brought to justice. If people choose to make false claims and forge documents in order to steal money earmarked for health services, they can expect to be caught and punished accordingly," Michael Moore said.
"One of the features of the monitoring system is a Fraud Hot Line for anyone who suspects the misuse of health funding and we welcome phone calls on 0800 424 888”.
Following an audit by the Audit & Compliance Unit of the Ministry of Health an Auckland couple were today sentenced in the Waitakere District Court after earlier pleading guilty to making false claims for carer support for their disabled child.
The couple, Marcus Rhind, and Hayley Dawson...
Following an audit by the Audit & Compliance Unit of the Ministry of Health an Auckland couple were today sentenced in the Waitakere District Court after earlier pleading guilty to making false claims for carer support for their disabled child.
The couple, Marcus Rhind, and Hayley Dawson defrauded the health system of $25,726 by dishoneslty claiming carer support payments. Parents, step-parents and adoptive parents are not able to claim for care they provide. Mr Rhind and Ms Dawson had claimed carer support payments for their son from October 2003 until January 2010 when the Ministry of Health picked up anomalies with their claims as part of a routine audit.
Mr Rhind pleaded guilty to 19 charges of Dishonestly using a Document to obtain pecuniary advantage and was sentenced to six months imprisonment.
Ms Dawson pleaded guilty to a charge of Dishonestly using a Document to obtain pecuniary advantage and was sentenced to six months' community detention, with a curfew from 8pm to 7am, seven days per week, and conditions requiring her to attend various counselling programmes as required by Probation Services; 18 months' intensive supervision on the conditions set out in her pre-sentence report; and to pay reparation of $12,863.25, being half the amount requested by the Ministry of Health, payable in instalments of $45 per week.
Carer support is a subsidy funded by the Ministry of Health and District Health Boards. The payments are designed to assist the unpaid full time carer of a person with a disability to take a break from caring for that person.
Michael Moore, National Risk Manager of the Audit & Compliance Unit of the Ministry of Health, said such offending diverted funds from families who have a real need for carer support.
“While it's good news that this couple was caught out, it's disappointing that yet again, we have an example of people ripping the system off while others miss out. The Audit & Compliance team is determined to uncover any individual who defrauds the system. This conviction shows that fraudulent claims will not be tolerated.
"There are monitoring and audit processes in place and where we suspect the misuse of funds, we will investigate and prosecute to ensure that the offenders are brought to justice. If people choose to make false claims and forge documents in order to steal money earmarked for health services, they can expect to be caught and punished accordingly," Michael Moore said.
"One of the features of the monitoring system is a Fraud Hot Line for anyone who suspects the misuse of health funding and we welcome phone calls on 0800 424 888”.
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