A New South Wales man was today (Friday 16 December) sentenced to three years behind bars for his role in a multi-million-dollar fraud against the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
The Merrylands man, 24, faced the Sydney Downing District Court charged with dealing with proceeds of crime, over $1 million in value.
He is linked to five people involved in an alleged Western Sydney crime syndicate charged for fraudulent NDIS claims totalling over $10 million in April 2021.
The AFP launched Operation Pegasus in December 2020, in partnership with the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), AUSTRAC (Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre) and Services Australia, investigating several suspected fraudulent NDIS providers based in Western Sydney.
In April 2021, AFP officers, forensic specialists and more than 50 partner agency members, conducted operational activity across Sydney, resulting in the arrests of five males and one female.
Police identified the syndicate was allegedly operating across three companies to defraud the NDIS of millions of dollars in false claims.
The man was linked to facilitating the withdrawal of the illicit funds from a bank account on behalf of the three companies.
He pleaded guilty to:
- Dealing with proceeds of crime, over AUD1,000,000 in value, being cash with a total value of AUD2,197,050.00, contrary to Section 400.3(1) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).
He was sentenced to a non-parole period of three years and 18 months.
Further background on Operation Pegasus.
