By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A former Noble Park-based car parts importer has been sentenced over his role in defrauding $90,000 from government ‘back to work’ job programs.
Simon Ashley McGraw, 40, pleaded guilty after a sentence indication at the Victorian County Court to two rolled-up counts of knowingly dealing with proceeds of crime in 2016 and 2017.
His former housemate Elizabeth Wun Yeen Yau allegedly lodged fake employee details to the Victoria’s Back To Work Scheme and Queensland’s Back to Work Program.
The schemes paid employers to hire or train eligible unemployed and retrenched workers. Up to $16,000 per worker was on offer.
McGraw’s bank accounts were the landing point for 14 payments worth $90,000. The funds were transferred to his other accounts or used to pay bills.
A police raid of Yau’s house found “collaborative” messages between Yau and McGraw about the BTW applications, emails and payments.
In a police interview, McGraw claimed he knew nothing about the BTW claims. He said Yau had paid him for doing work such as painting her house.
He recently told a Corrections interview that he was “blissfully unaware” of the scam funds – which was “less than candid”, sentencing judge Angela Ellis said on 20 July.
McGraw was a “knowing participant” who “played an important role” without taking part in the fraudulent conduct, she said.
He knew Yau was doing something fraudulent, if not the specifics.
Judge Ellis noted that he’d personally received $30,000 – which he used to support his franchise business RS-R Suspension.
McGraw argued he’d been partly motivated by financial stress at the time.
Recently, he’d suffered further hardship when his franchise closed due to the head office receiving media articles about his charges.
In 2018, he was seriously injured when struck on his motorcycle in a hit-run crash.
As a result, McGraw endured months in hospital and rehab – including 14 surgeries for skull and leg fractures and a ruptured bicep.
The now-disability pensioner hadn’t worked in a meaningful way since, and resorted to heavy drinking out of boredom.
In sentencing, Judge Ellis rejected the prosecution’s submission for a jail component.
She noted the step dad’s stable family support, work history, his lack of relevant prior convictions, no subsequent offending and his guilty plea.
McGraw was sentenced to a two-and-a-half-year community corrections order, including 150 hours of unpaid community work and drug-and-alcohol treatment.
His work component was subject to getting medical clearance.
Yau – who was the alleged architect of the scam and pocketed more than $500,000 – has pleaded guilty to more serious charges of obtaining financial advantage by deception.
She is expected to be sentenced at the County Court in September.
