A man who successfully claimed $1000 in natural-disaster relief funding from Centrelink while he was locked up in prison has been jailed.
Keith Charles Riley, formerly of Coonabarabran but currently serving jail time at Cooma, pleaded guilty to two fraud-related charges at Queanbeyan Local Court on Monday after making two false Centrelink claims, one in 2012 and one in 2013.
Riley, 32, first claimed $1000 in Commonwealth funding after claiming he had been significantly affected by the Moree floods of January and February 2012.
He was actually serving jail time at Cessnock throughout that natural disaster. Queanbeyan magistrate Chris Bone said it was "breathtaking" that Riley had made a successful disaster-relief claim.
"To apply for this when you're actually in jail and get away with it … I'm not sure I can think of a word to describe that," he said. "Maybe 'breathtaking' is the word I'm looking for.
"The defendant was in one of the safest places in NSW at the time of the floods, he was in jail at Cessnock.
"And as soon as he got out, he made a natural-disaster relief claim and was successful."
Riley made the successful claim over the phone from Sydney in April 2012, shortly after he was released from jail. He tried it again in early 2013, seeking relief funding in relation to the Wambelong bushfires in the state's north-west.
Riley told Centrelink operators he was a Coonabarabran farmer who had lost farm buildings in the fires. However, the address he provided proved to be incorrect, which sparked an investigation and the criminal charges.
His solicitor, Rosemary Benet, said that at the time of the offences Riley had been in the grip of a serious heroin addiction which
"certainly affected his judgement".
Riley appeared in the dock at court and is currently incarcerated at Cooma in relation to other offences.
However, Mr Bone added an extra three months to Riley's jail time, to be served concurrently.
"It's taking 'cheat' to the ultimate degree to apply for a flood relief benefit when you're actually 500 kilometres away in jail," the magistrate said.
"We don't have bottomless pits of money in this country for people who want to take advantage of these schemes."
Riley was also ordered to repay Centrelink the money he received once he was released from jail.
