Photo credit: NBN News
A former federal Labour MP in Australia, Craig Thomson, has been jailed for four years for his role in a multi-million dollar visa fraud scheme and fraudulently receiving COVID-era payments.
ABC News reports that Thomson had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of delivering a document containing a false statement and one count of obtaining a financial benefit by deception.
In handing down his sentence, Judge Robert Newlands SC told the Sydney District Court that Thomson took money from people looking for visas even though he was not a registered migration agent.
The court heard he acted as a middleman while those applying for a visa could have gone straight to a migration agent.
He charged visa applicants up to $50,000 to assist with their applications, regardless of their outcome.
Judge Newlands said Thomson took advantage of a system that involved self-reporting and trust.
The former Dobell MP also lodged 13 online forms falsely reporting that a Wyong cafe was entitled to COVID-era JobKeeper payments.
The court heard he submitted the applications without the consent of the cafe’s owners and did not disclose that the eatery was not operational.
He pocketed $61,800
