Wife of millionaire mining executive jailed for Centrelink fraud in WA
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Version 0 of 1. The wife of a wealthy mining executive will spend at least nine months behind bars after pleading guilty to fraudulently claiming more than $60,000 in welfare benefits. Julie Bohannan, 42, used a false name and repeatedly lied to Centrelink over eight years about her marital status, where she lived and how much money she had, even after she married the former chief executive of Braemore Resources and Bathurst Resources, Hamish Bohannan, in 2006. She was sentenced in the West Australian district court on Wednesday to 18 months’ jail. Judge Andrew Stavrianou said the mother of two had engaged in deliberate and sustained deception between November 2001 and July 2009. Bohannan’s husband had a significant income between 2004 and 2009, including $1.8m in 2004-05, and she had no significant need to receive the Centrelink benefits. “It was planned, deliberate and dishonest conduct,” Stavrianou said. “You abused the system for your own personal gain.” Bohannan repaid the money in 2010 and then moved to New Zealand, but was arrested at Perth airport during one of her visits last year. Stavrianou noted that Bohannan was remorseful, had no prior convictions, had not reoffended since paying back the money and was a good parent. But personal and general deterrence were also important considerations for sentencing. The court heard one of Bohannan’s daughters had learning difficulties, but Stavrianou found her circumstances were not so exceptional that no one else could care for the girl while Bohannan was in prison. |