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CENTRELINK FRAUD AND SOCIAL SECURITY DISPUTES

Centrelink offences can have very serious consequences. Fraud offences surrounding Centrelink payments are some of the most common and vigorously prosecuted Commonwealth criminal offences on the books. If you have been charged with such an offence, it is crucial that you contact one of our criminal lawyers as soon as possible, who will advise you on the best course of action for handling any disputes or misunderstandings you are having with the authorities at Centrelink.

Many Centrelink offences are concerned with recklessness and misleading statements. Recklessness generally refers to cases where someone submits a false document without making an effort to ascertain the documents’ authenticity or the accuracy of any information contained in the document.

If Centrelink has paid you too much money, either because you misrepresented your income, or because you failed to keep Centrelink updated with new information that affects the amount of Centrelink payments you are legally entitled to, it is possible for Centrelink to take legal action to recover amounts that have been overpaid to you. Centrelink has the power to bring criminal charges against you for fraud if the amount overpaid is not trivial and they believe that you intentionally and knowingly engaged in misleading conduct in procuring the additional payments. For example, if you purposefully neglected to declare a portion of your income so that you would be paid more government benefits, and the amount of income you failed to declare was not trivial, you may be found guilty of Centrelink fraud.

The most common type of Centrelink fraud is identity theft. This is the theft and misuse of a person’s social security number to illegally collect Centrelink benefits. Some other examples of social security fraud that may be considered a criminal offence include:

* Making False statements or claims
* Not disclosing important facts that affect eligibility for Centrelink payments
* Buying or selling Social Security cards or Social Security Administration information

If you have been contacted by Centrelink with a request to repay money, our team of criminal lawyers can help you negotiate a mutually acceptable agreement with Centrelink. Alternatively, if you have been charged with Centrelink Fraud, our criminal lawyers can provide you with sound legal advice and effective legal representation to defend the charges laid against you.