An elaborate fraud empire using the details of unsuspecting Australians saw hundreds of thousands in taxpayer money spent on luxury goods.
A former escort who ran an elaborate $7 million Medicare fraud empire spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer money at luxury goods stores including Louis Vuitton and Fendi.
“The scale of this alleged fraud operation was staggering. Stealing money meant for sick people places you at the bottom of the human food chain,” federal minister for government services Bill Shorten told this masthead. One of her final purchases before her arrest, the court heard, was more than $60,000 at Louis Vuitton, using an account in the name of a Melbourne doctor.
The court heard Esmaquel recently told a psychologist she was living with depression, PTSD, gender dysphoria, and severe substance abuse which contributed to her offending as she desired to feel accepted and needed. Maidment said what made the offending more serious was it required a willingness to exploit an honesty-based system for personal gain which, in turn, left less available money to others for genuine Medicare payments.
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