(Oz) Dole office accidentally gives €1.6m to claimant

snubbleste · 10-03-2012 03:06PM #1

After discovering $2m had been deposited into her bank account, Judy Lorbek paid off her mortgage, went shopping and took two of her three children on a holiday to Sydney.
Ms Lorbek had requested about $2000 in government child support this year. Instead, she received $2 million. And she spent it.
The 46-year-old mother of three from Coes Creek, Queensland, was charged by the AFP with dishonestly appropriating property of the Commonwealth. Her son explains:

''What originally happened, is my father is a millionaire and my mum only got a really small payout when they split and she should have gotten millions, but she basically got nothing. ''So she applied 18 months ago for some child support and my sister said that when the money came, she thought it was a payout from my father.''
He added: ''I think when she got this money, she must have thought all her Christmasses have come at once.''

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/stung-for-2m-centrelink-gift-20120310-1ur3a.html#ixzz1oiqYCQMi

So what would you do in this situation? What defence would you put up when caught?

Biggins · 10-03-2012 03:10PM

snubbleste wrote: »

So what would you do in this situation? What defence would you put up when caught?

Stupidity?

She should have known they would come looking for it!

beco2010 · 10-03-2012 03:11PM

I woulnd't get caught

ebixa82 · 10-03-2012 03:12PM

I would have said my father is a millionaire and my mum only got a really small payout when they split and she should have gotten millions, but she basically got nothing and see what happened then.

10-03-2012 03:12PM

Biggins wrote: »

Stupidity?

She should have known they would come looking for it!

I think this is fair enough though

'What originally happened, is my father is a millionaire and my mum only got a really small payout when they split and she should have gotten millions, but she basically got nothing.
''So she applied 18 months ago for some child support and my sister said that when the money came, she thought it was a payout from my father.''

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar · 10-03-2012 03:13PM

a quick email or phone call to the fathers lawyers would have been prudent there

Lumbo · 10-03-2012 03:13PM

This could only happen in Ireland...... oh wait a minute.

later12 · 10-03-2012 03:15PM

No reasonable individual, regardless of the wealth of their ex partner, could reasonably be landed with €2,000,000 transaction into their current account and not ask questions about it.

10-03-2012 03:16PM

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

a quick email or phone call to the fathers lawyers would have been prudent there

yeah, i suppose really the quote was a bit reasonable as an initial reaction but there's no excuse for not following up on it

tfitzgerald · 10-03-2012 03:19PM

Fair play to her . I hope she had a great time

Biggins · 10-03-2012 03:21PM

bluewolf wrote: »

I think this is fair enough though

What originally happened, is my father is a millionaire and my mum only got a really small payout when they split and she should have gotten millions, but she basically got nothing.
''So she applied 18 months ago for some child support and my sister said that when the money came, she thought it was a payout from my father.''

Indeed, she might have justification.

The other side might argue that if she got that amount of money, or any amount of money, checking her account on line or in paper form (and she had to do so, you just don't pull huge cash as she did out of a cash machine that has a max payout in any one day), she would have seen in text (a few millimetres away?), the source of payment given to her.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

a quick email or phone call to the fathers lawyers would have been prudent there

Aye. A simple thing to do.
If only to say "Thanks for the money!" or confirm she got it?

Will I Amnt · 10-03-2012 03:24PM

Identity change............................[snake voice]BYE!!![/snake voice]

Stiffler2 · 10-03-2012 03:27PM

cambo2008 wrote: »

Identity change............................BYE!!!

I would state that the money was simply resting in my account.

MungBean · 10-03-2012 03:32PM

tfitzgerald wrote: »

Fair play to her . I hope she had a great time

I do too because she's probably gonna lose her home and be in debt for the rest of her life.

Sierra 117 · 10-03-2012 04:35PM

What happens to the interest earned on the money? Would she be allowed to keep that?

Biggins · 10-03-2012 04:39PM

Sierra 117 wrote: »

What happens to the interest earned on the money? Would she be allowed to keep that?

If they really wanted to be exact and/or petty, they could argue a case that it too belongs to them as it would have earned same or even more interest, had it been done right (the financial transaction).

If they are entitled to claim back the principle amount, I assume they are also entitled to claim back the interest too.

...Open to be wrong though.

castie · 10-03-2012 04:40PM

Money to Caymans.
Move to non extradition treaty country or alternatively buy a cheap island.
Job done!

Overheal · 10-03-2012 04:41PM

later12 wrote: »

No reasonable individual, regardless of the wealth of their ex partner, could reasonably be landed with €2,000,000 transaction into their current account and not ask questions about it.

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, just ride it.

ejmaztec · 10-03-2012 04:42PM

later12 wrote: »

No reasonable individual, regardless of the wealth of their ex partner, could reasonably be landed with €2,000,000 transaction into their current account and not ask questions about it.

Why bother wasting time asking questions when there's good money to be pissed away?

MagicMarker · 10-03-2012 04:44PM

I would have cleared my debts, feign ignorance and offer to repay the amount back at a rate of €20 a week, interest free. This amount of course would be subtracted from my welfare allowance.

Devi · 10-03-2012 04:51PM

I think it’s morally wrong to charge her, she didn’t go out of her way to steal the money. The money was basically given to her and therefore in my opinion her property. It should be the manager of the social welfare office that is held accountable. A small line of code in the software could have stopped this were if a payment goes over a certain amount it has to be signed off.

I think it is just another example of one rule for them and another for us. If your private business installs a product and your customer doesn’t pay for it, you can’t go on site and take the product back as that would be theft even though they haven’t paid for it, but yet the government can give mess up and your life gets f**ked for it. I know it would have been prudent to check before spending but hindsight is........

Hail 2 Da Thief · 10-03-2012 04:53PM

Biggins wrote: »

If they really wanted to be exact and/or petty, they could argue a case that it too belongs to them.

Wouldn't see it as being petty at all. It's interest gained on the tax payers money after all!

AngryBollix · 10-03-2012 04:55PM

Thank god it wasnt our dole office

El Weirdo · 10-03-2012 05:01PM

I'd say there are a few regulars foaming at the mouth as they click into this thread. I can imagine the disappointment they'll feel when they realise that the story is from the other side of the world.

RichieC · 10-03-2012 05:06PM

I'd of dumped it straight into a mutual fund and start making money on it, by the time the dole office copped on I could give them the money back and kept a nice bit of lewt!

warning, may not be a simple as that.

MungBean · 10-03-2012 05:14PM

She's an idiot, basically everything she spent is gonna be taken back through the sale of her house.

Not sure how the property market is in Australia but she's probably lose if its a quick sale. She's just extended her mortgage by about 10 years for a holiday.

snubbleste · 10-03-2012 05:16PM

El Weirdo wrote: »

I'd say there are a few regulars foaming at the mouth as they click into this thread. I can imagine the disappointment they'll feel when they realise that the story is from the other side of the world.

That was deliberate by the OP :cool:
I think the 19 year old son summed up such a good excuse for what occurred. She should pay it back though.

biko · 10-03-2012 05:31PM

Title amended (Oz)

Overheal · 10-03-2012 05:32PM

Would have bet it all in a casino. At the roulette table. Everything on black.

Casillas · 10-03-2012 06:01PM

Overheal wrote: »

Would have bet it all in a casino. At the roulette table. Everything on black.

Red 15

RiseToTheTop · 10-03-2012 06:08PM

Well she can't leave the money, she definitely have to declare 2 million to customs.

She would have to be held TBH. I think 10,000 Aussie $ is the limit without declaring, anything over that you have to declare.

(Oz) Dole office accidentally gives €1.6m to claimant

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