How a welfare cheat hid $1 million from Centrelink
A welfare cheat has managed to hide more than $1 million in cash and assets from Centrelink for over 10 years, after the Department of Human Services overpaid him.
Rabee Ebady received the Disability Support Pension, Newstart Allowance and rent assistance between December 2005 and March 2016, despite having an income of $691,566 during the period and a residential property in Sydney’s west.
Ebady also had $447,631 he had transferred overseas, without declaring.
Ebady reportedly claimed he was in financial difficulty when facing the tribunal and unable to pay the $142,000 debt the Department of Human services was seeking, but tribunal senior member Jill Toohey said this was no excuse.
“There is no reason why he should not have to repay all of that debt,” she said.
What’s your take? Do you think the Department of Human Services is coming down too hard on Ebady? Or does the punishment fit the crime?