Fraudster to repay compensation after pleading guilty to false WorkCover claim

17 April 2023

A man who failed to disclose a back injury he suffered days before an injury at work will be required to repay for compensation he received from a WorkCover claim.

Melton West, Victoria, resident Geoffrey Glendinning pleaded guilty to two charges of obtaining financial advantage by deception and a single charge of obtaining property by deception.

The Sunshine Magistrates’ Court heard that the 58-year-old had answered “no” when asked if he had a previous injury related to his claim, despite suffering one a few days prior.

Glendinning said he had been injured at a work site after stepping out of a truck in November 2014. He allegedly told emergency services that he heard a “pop” in his hip and was unable to move his leg.

He had his claim accepted, including liability for weekly payments and medical expenses, including spinal surgery, in March 2015.

Payments were stopped in 2017 after a WorkSafe investigation found that days before the incident, Mr Glendinning had twice called ambulances for “stabbing hip and leg pain” while driving home from a V8 Supercar event. The court heard that he had been diagnosed with sciatica after reporting a similar “pop” in his hip while packing his car days before.

WorkSafe Insurance Executive Director Roger Arnold says the case was “a significant fraud, which took money and resources that should have been supporting injured workers and families in legitimate need”.

“There is no excuse for this type of deception and WorkSafe won’t hesitate to prosecute anyone who tries to take advantage of the WorkCover compensation scheme for their own personal gain,” Mr Arnold said.

Glendinning was placed on a two-year Community Corrections Order, with the requirement of performing 180 hours of unpaid community work as well as repaying $143,982 for the compensation he received over the two years.