A Dubbo man caught taking taxpayers for a ride and repeatedly lying about how much money he was earning has been ordered to repay about $43,000 to the federal government.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
On 105 different occasions Jason Todd Wright lied to Centrelink about how much money he collected from cleaning jobs.
READ ALSO: Aviators give training academy thumbs up
Court documents reveal when the 46-year-old worked as a cleaner for the Catholic Education Diocese of Bathurst, from 2012 to 2018, his gross income was about $100,000.
From 2014 to 2017 Wright took home almost $41,000 in gross income when he cleaned for the Joss Group.
While he was engaged in paid employment Wright told Centrelink he wasn't paid a cent 73 times and he under-declared his income 32 times.
In total taxpayers forked out $66,762 to Wright when he was only entitled to $21,507.
His lies were detected by data matching with the Australian Taxation Office in 2016.
According to court documents Wright has been on and off the dole since 1994.
He was invited to explain himself to the government but a formal interview never took place.
In July Wright confessed to his crimes.
He pleaded guilty to engaging in conduct to obtain a financial advantage from the government.
Magistrate Gary Wilson convicted Wright in Dubbo Local Court on Wednesday.
He was sentenced to a 12-month term of imprisonment which is to be served by way of an intensive corrections order in the community.
Magistrate Wilson also ordered Wright to undertake 180 hours of community service and pay the Commonwealth of Australia $43,510.33.