Owner of a Perth occupational therapy business charged over alleged multimillion dollar Commonwealth Government fraud

Publisher
AFP
Date published
September 2025

Relevant impacts: Government Outcomes Impact, Financial Impact, Business Impact

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) have worked together to bring charges against the owner of a Perth occupational therapy business with one count of dishonestly causing a loss to the Commonwealth. The Mount Hathorn Woman allegedly submitted fraudulent treatment claims to the DVA totalling more than $7 million.

The woman allegedly submitted frequent payment claims between September 2019 and March 2023 that did not match the services the business had provided to clients. The DVA notified the AFP of a suspiciously high volume of high-value claims submitted by the woman's business, triggering the AFP investigation.

The AFP executed 2 search warrants in March 2023 after initial investigations, and again on 13 August 2025 after further allegations of suspicious business activity. The AFP-led Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce also obtained restraining orders in the District Court of WA over 3 properties the woman owned in WA, with have a collective value of about $2.5 million.

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Related fraudster personas

The Fabricator

The Fabricator invents or produces something that is false to dishonestly gain personal benefits.

The Exploiter

The Exploiter uses something for a wrongful purpose to dishonestly gain personal benefits.

Related countermeasures

Collaborate with strategic partners

Collaborate with strategic partners such as other government entities, committees, working groups and taskforces. This allows you to share capability, information and intelligence and to prevent and disrupt fraud.

Resilient clients and stakeholders

Supporting clients, suppliers, providers, contractors, industry partners to protect themselves from scams, exploitation, identity theft and compromise.

Parameters and limits

Apply limits on requests, claims or processes, such as maximum claim amounts or time periods. Enforce these limits using IT system controls.

Verify information

Verify any requests or claim information you receive with an independent and credible source.

Quality assurance checks

Conduct quality assurance activities to confirm that processes are being followed correctly and to a high standard and/or that material or goods are what they are claimed to be. Quality assurance checks not only improve processing standards, they can also detect potentially fraudulent activity and are a significant deterrent to fraud.

Exception reporting

Establish exception reports to identify activities that are different from the standard, normal, or expected process and should be further investigated.

Audits or reviews

Internal or external audits or reviews evaluate the process, purpose and outcome of activities. Clients, public officials or contractors can take advantage of weaknesses in government programs and systems to commit fraud, act corruptly, and avoid exposure.

Investigate fraud

 Investigate fraud in line with the Australian Government Investigation Standards (AGIS).

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