Could it be that Australians are more honest?
Could it be that Australians are more honest? I some how doubt it. Or could it be that the design of JobKeeper was so sloppy that ripping it off was not a crime.
From the US Department of Justice:
A Nevada woman pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to defraud the United States by making claims for refunds of false COVID-19 related employment tax credits.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Candies Goode-McCoy, of Las Vegas, conspired with others to file tax returns seeking fraudulent refunds based on the employee retention credit (ERC) and paid sick and family leave credit. From around June 2022 through September 2023, McCoy filed approximately 1,227 false tax returns for her businesses and others claiming these refundable credits.
In total, these claims sought refunds of over $98 million, of which the IRS paid approximately $33 million. McCoy personally received over $1.3 million in fraudulent refunds and was paid about $800,000 from those on whose behalf she filed fraudulent returns. McCoy knew that these returns were fraudulent. Neither she nor the others for whom she filed them were eligible to receive the refundable credits in the amounts claimed. McCoy used the proceeds for her personal benefit, including the purchase of luxury cars, gambling at casinos, vacations and other luxury goods.
Remember also the observations of, John Dardo, the head of the NDIS integrity and fraud unit, who told a Senate Estimates Committee that, “90 per cent of support coordinators commit fraud” and that prosecuting them would overwhelm the criminal justice system.
In 2022, Michael Phelan, the previous CEO of the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, the Commonwealth body chartered with combating threats from “transnational serious and organised crime”, estimated that, ‘as much as 15 to 20 per cent’ of the NDIS was misused.
