R v Sarza

[2021] NSWDC 616

District Court

New South Wales

• Amendment notes

Medium Neutral Citation:

R v Sarza [2021] NSWDC 616

Hearing dates:

17 September 2021

Date of orders:

24 September 2021

Decision date:

24 September 2021

Jurisdiction:

Criminal

Before:

Buscombe DCJ

Decision:

Sentence imposed one of 2 years and 3 months imprisonment

Recognisance Release Order made. Order that the offender be released on a recognisance after serving 13 months of the sentence.

Catchwords:

CRIME — Fraud — Dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception

Legislation Cited:

Commonwealth Criminal Code, s 134.2(1)

Crimes Act 1914 (Cth), ss 16A(2)(g),17A, 19A, 19C, 20

Cases Cited:

Johnston v R [2017] NSWCCA 53

Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) v De La Rosa [2010] NSWCCA 194

Category:

Sentence

Parties:

Rowena Sarza (Offender)
Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Crown)

Representation:

Counsel:
Mr Warr (Offender)
Mr McLaren (Crown)

File Number(s):

2020/319599

Publication restriction:

Nil

SENTENCE

Introduction

1. The offender is to be sentenced having pleaded guilty to the following offence: that between 14 October 2008 and 4 September 2009 at Plumpton, Colebee and elsewhere she did by deception dishonestly obtain a financial advantage, namely the age pension belonging to another, namely, the Commonwealth, being a Commonwealth entity. That is an offence under s 134.2(1) of the Commonwealth Criminal Code and has a maximum penalty of ten years imprisonment and/or a fine equivalent to 600 penalty units. The offence is a Commonwealth offence and the offender is to be sentenced in accordance with the provisions of Part 1B of the Commonwealth Crimes Act

The Facts

2. The facts are agreed and the following is taken from the agreed facts. Angela Cappoli was the grandmother of the offender. Ms Cappoli was in receipt of the aged pension on a fortnightly basis from the Department of Human Services Centrelink, which I will refer to as the ‘Department’, from 20 March 1997. The aged pension is payable to eligible persons who meet residency requirements and have reached the relevant age for eligibility. The offender became a correspondence nominee for her grandmother on 20 March 1997, which authorised her to enquire and make changes to her grandmother’s Departmental records. The offender retained this authority until payments were cancelled on 2 September 2019.

3. Between 14 October 2008 and 4 September 2019 the offender represented to the Department that her grandmother was resident in Australia. However her grandmother departed Australia on 3 December 2007 and never returned. In addition, the offender’s grandmother passed away on 25 May 2015 in the Philippines. The offender attended her funeral in that location. Between 14 October 2008 and 4 September 2019 the offender’s grandmother’s aged pension payments were paid into a Commonwealth Bank Account held in her name. The offender was authorised to operate the account from 8 July 1999 and on 27 September 2012 the offender had possession of the debit Mastercard linked to the account in her grandmother’s name.

4. Transaction records from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia bank account show most of the funds were either withdrawn or disposed of in…