R v Huntman [2007] NSWDC 193

New South Wales District Court

CITATION: R v Huntman [2007] NSWDC 193

HEARING DATE(S): 6 September 2007

JUDGMENT DATE: 12 September 2007

JURISDICTION: Criminal

JUDGMENT OF: Goldring DCJ

DECISION: Sentenced to imprisonment ; see Paragraph [76]; Make reparation orders ; see Paragraph [77]

CATCHWORDS: Criminal law - sentence - social security fraud - multiple offences

LEGISLATION CITED: Crimes Act 1914 (Cth)

R v Purdon (unreported) CCA 27/3/97 R v Townsend (2007) NSW CCA 215 R v Keir (2004) NSW CCA 106 R v JRB (2006) NSW CCA 371 CASES CITED: Sopher (1993) 70 ACrimR 570 Kovacevic v Mills (2000) SASC 106 Cameron v Simounds (1993) 171 LSJS 305 Cruz v Treminio (2001) ACTSC 59 Ralph v Nawrojee (2003) WASCA 5 R v Brewer (2004) ACTCA 10

PARTIES: Crown Wilhelmina Huntman

FILE NUMBER(S): 07/41/0125

COUNSEL: Ms S Baker-Goldsmith (Crown) Mr B Collaery (Offender)

SOLICITORS: Commonwealth DPP (Crown) Gordon Naylor & Associates, Queanbeyan (Offender)

JUDGMENT

SENTENCE 1 HIS HONOUR: Wilhelmina Vogt, who was charged under the name of Wilhelmina Huntman, pleaded guilty in the Local Court to two charges of defrauding the Commonwealth, and two charges of obtaining financial advantage by deception. She adhered to her pleas in this court and, accordingly, she is convicted of those four offences. The maximum penalty for each offence is ten years imprisonment and a substantial fine.

2 The agreed facts are as follows. The offender, whilst receiving social security payments under the name, Huntman, also received payments under the names of Vogt and Venda Mona Danushka Vegtelaar. Vogt was not a false name and it was, in fact, the name by which she was known at the time, but that was not something she disclosed to social security. She maintained falsely named bank accounts, and she used false documents of identity in perpetrating the fraud, and as a result she was overpaid a total sum of $372,619.30. The social security payments have been administered by an agency with different names but I will refer to it as Centrelink.