A Blackbutt woman who swindled almost $70,000 from the public purse in a Medicare scam that lasted more than two years may avoid a full time jail sentence.
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Lynn Joy Borg, 60, carried out the simple yet advantageous scheme between January 2010 and April 2012, earning a total of $69,483 in Medicare reimbursements for medical consultations that never actually took place.
Court documents reveal Borg provided Medicare with a total of 345 invoices purportedly showing payment for psychiatric sessions for herself and three family members from registered psychiatrist, Dr Prem Naidoo.
However, records from Dr Naidoo’s offices show only two of those family members had ever been Dr Naidoo’s patients, and together had only attended a handful of appointments, all of which took place before the offending period.
The records showed none of the 345 invoices Borg lodged with Medicare during the 27-month time frame had been produced by the practice, nor had Dr Naidoo been paid any money from the Borg family for consultations during that period.
Borg pleaded guilty to fraud charges in Wollongong Local Court on Thursday, admitting she had falsified the invoices to claim the monentary reimbursements.
Magistrate Mark Douglass said the amount taken was “significant” and there had been multiple offences over a long period of time, however he also acknowledged Borg had already repaid the debt in full.
He ordered a background report ahead of Borg’s next court appearance to see if she was suitable for any non-custodial sentences, including a community-based intensive corrections order.
The matter will return to court on December 1.
