WA Police Force’s Financial Crimes Squad has charged a man in relation to alleged fraudulent conduct involving applications for the WA Government’s Building Bonus grant.
The Department of Finance carefully assess all applications received and, in some instances, has identified suspicious information, including applicants providing false information about building commencement dates and when slabs were laid, as well as falsifying building contract dates and payment invoices.
These applications were subjected to further scrutiny and one referral was made to the WA Police Force resulting in a man pleading guilty to four counts of ‘Gains Benefit by Fraud’ and five counts of ‘Attempt to Gain Benefit by Fraud’.
There are strict eligibility requirements for the Building Bonus Grant and where it is established an applicant has intentionally provided false information, or created fraudulent documents to support a grant application, a criminal investigation will be conducted by the Financial Crimes Squad.
Fraudulent claims have resulted in the Building Bonus grant rules being changed to remove eligibility for a grant under consideration and future grants if misleading information is provided.
The rule change will allow the Department to refuse to pay the grant to a person, company or trust associated with an applicant who has provided misleading information.
