NSW police charge man over bushfire fraud

A man has been charged over alleged fraud relating to bushfire support recovery grants.

Strike Force Roche was established by several police districts within the Northern Region to investigate alleged fraudulent claims for bushfire disaster relief and small business grants through government agencies.

Following extensive inquiries, detectives from Lake Macquarie Police District charged a 28-year-old man with six counts of dishonestly obtain financial benefit by deception and two counts of attempt dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception.

Police will allege in court the man fraudulently obtained six NSW Government grants, receiving a total of $60,000 and attempted to obtain a further two NSW Government grants totalling $20,000.

The man is due to appear at Belmont Local Court on Friday 29 January 2021.

Investigations under the strike force are ongoing across multiple police districts in the Northern Region.

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