Five charged as federal taskforce alleges $235 million in fraud against the NDIS and three other Commonwealth agencies

Five people have been charged under Operation Integrity Fusion, a three-month operation by the Australian Federal Police-led Fraud Fusion Taskforce, the AFP announced on Wednesday 4 November. This report draws on The Nightly, ABC News and Region Canberra. The accused have not been named, and the allegations have not been tested in court. ## The operation Across seven investigations, authorities identified about $235 million in actual and potential fraud, Region Canberra reports. Police allege money was claimed for services that were not provided or only partly delivered. Investigators seized 44 digital devices, more than $120,000 in cash, about $15,000 in silver bullion, $11,000 in gold coins and about $60,000 worth of jewellery. More than 100 police officers and more than 150 Commonwealth staff took part, supported by NSW, Queensland, South Australian and Victorian police, ABC News reports. ## Those charged A 42-year-old Adelaide-based NDIA employee is accused of giving 78 NDIS participant records without authorisation to providers she knew, The Nightly and ABC News report; she is due to face Adelaide Magistrates Court in December. A man in rural Victoria is accused of taking about $700,000 from the NDIS over two years through false invoices against his own plan. Three Sydney-based Chinese nationals in their 20s were charged last month with dealing in the proceeds of crime over an alleged phishing scam that used a fake myGov website to redirect about $2.5 million in Centrelink payments, police allege. Other investigations, including into four NDIS providers and a plan manager alleged to have claimed $100 million since 2019, are continuing with no arrests, ABC News reports. "While the majority do the right thing, there are groups in our country who selfishly rort the system for their own personal gain," AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Stephen Raper said.