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Pole dancing mum is spared jail despite defrauding Centrelink of nearly $100,000 after failing to declare extra income from her two side hustles
- Sydney pole dancer, mum, Melanie Bond failed to declare income of two jobs
- She was paid $96,000 in carer’s payment but was only owed $775 after income
- Bond pleaded guilty to dishonestly causing a risk of loss to the Commonwealth
- She broke down in tears in court where she was given suspended jail term
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A pole dancing mum has been spared jail despite defrauding Centrelink of $95,000 after she failed to declare her income while receiving a carer’s payment.
Melanie Bond, 46, from Luddenham in southwest Sydney, received $96,046 from Centrelink between June 2014 and July 2018.
She was dobbed into authorities in 2018 with an investigation finding that because was receiving income from two side businesses, she was only entitled to $775 of the payments, the Parramatta Local Court heard on Friday.
Bond broke down in tears in front of Magistrate Peter Feather, who decided against a jail sentence but ordered her to repay the full amount, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Melanie Bond, 46, from Luddenham in southwest Sydney, received $96,046 from Centrelink between June 2014 and July 2018
Bond broke down in tears in front of Magistrate Peter Feather, who decided against a jail sentence but ordered her to repay the full amount
She started receiving the carers payments in 2011 while studying a law degree, according to court documents.
The mother then launched her own conveyancing firm in 2013, and opened a pole dancing studio with two friends in 2017.
Between 2013 and 2017, Bond, a single mum of three children, gym instructor and personal trainer, made about $60,000 a year that she didn’t declare.
She was eventually dobbed into Services Australia in May, 2018.
The court heard Bond had asked Centrelink about her obligations and was told quarterly profit and loss statements were required.
But her reporting was erratic and on many occasions she failed to declare any income at all.
Bond was charged with one count of dishonestly causing a risk of loss to the Commonwealth, to which she pleaded guilty
Between 2013 and 2017, Bond, a single mum of three children, gym instructor and personal trainer, made about $60,000 a year which she didn’t declare
She was charged with one count of dishonestly causing a risk of loss to the Commonwealth. She pleaded guilty to the charge which caused her to lose her conveyancing licence.
Bond is now retraining as a nurse and working part-time as a pole dancing instructor.
Magistrate Feather noted that Bond’s references suggested the offending was out of character and that she was praised as ‘a passionate, generous’ person.
He considered her a low risk of re-offending.
Bond was handed a 12-month suspended jail sentence and has been ordered to repay the money she was wrongly paid.