A former high-achieving marketing graduate with a master's degree was sentenced to a 12-month community correction order with conviction after pleading guilty to fraud offences.
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graduate → achieve → offences
Last week, Christina Georgiou admitted in Melbourne Magistrates' Court to dishonestly obtaining $50,421 through an Austudy scam and multiple false claims for Covid and disaster relief payments between February 2022 and June 2024.
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Georgiou → admit → February
The 34-year-old, then living in Templestowe, Melbourne, obtained $47,671 in illegitimate Austudy payments by falsely claiming to be enrolled full-time with Open Universities Australia.
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old → live → Australia
She received multiple duplicate payments after incorrectly stating her bank card had been stolen and updating her account details.
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card → receive → details
Georgiou also falsely claimed she had missed payments because funds were sent to a closed bank account, resulting in Services Australia reissuing her Austudy benefits on several occasions.
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Australia → claim → occasions
Open Universities Australia advised Services Australia that although Georgiou began an application, she never completed enrolment requirements and was not enrolled at any time during the offending period.
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she → advise → period
In March 2022, Georgiou also falsely claimed disaster relief payments intended for victims of the south-east Queensland floods.
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Georgiou → claim → floods
While living in Melbourne, she claimed to be residing at a Redland Bay property affected by the floods.
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she → live → floods
Authorities confirmed with the property owner that Georgiou had never lived there, and the property was undamaged.
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property → confirm → owner
Christina Georgiou, 34, pleaded guilty to 'despicable' fraud offending
Georgiou stole money meant for victims of the 2022 south-east Queensland floods (above)
Georgiou also received a Covid payment after she falsely claimed she was unable to work at Bras N Things in March 2022 due to having contracted Covid-19.
Authorities also confirmed Georgiou had never been employed by Bras N Things and was receiving unemployment benefits when she claimed the Covid relief payment.
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she → plead → payment
Magistrate Abigail Burchill described Georgiou's offending as 'despicable', noting her life had 'seriously gone off track' in her late 20s.
'[Charge 1] is a very serious offence.
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Charge → describe → 20s
The penalty includes imprisonment [of] up to ten years...
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penalty → include → years
the amount and length for charge one is aggravated,' Magistrate Burchill said.
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Burchill → aggravate → charge
It spans two years and involves close to $50,000.
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It → span → 50,000
It's also aggravated by the active steps that you took to continue the deception, rather than stopping the payment.
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you → aggravate → payment
These active steps included updating bank account numbers, reporting missing payments and reporting that a payment was made into an account that was closed.
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that → include → closed
'All opportunities for you to stop the payments.
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you → stop → payments
You did the opposite.'
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You → do → opposite
Magistrate Burchill added the second charge was aggravated because it involved multiple false claims.
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it → add → claims
Georgiou claimed she lived at a property savaged by the Queensland floods in 2022 but was actually living in Melbourne
'
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she → claim → Melbourne
This took planning and this took effort.
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this → take → effort
The nature of the offending is despicable, claiming disaster payments for flood-affected areas.
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nature → claim → areas
And for loss of salary during the pandemic when you weren't working,' she said.
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she → work → pandemic
'Quite the opposite, you were getting these Austudy payments and you weren't anywhere near flood-ruined areas, where people lost everything.'
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people → get → everything
Magistrate Burchill took into account that Georgiou's offending was 'relatively unsophisticated'.
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offending → take → account
'The payments were into accounts in your name and everything led to you,' she said.
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she → lead → you
Magistrate Burchill also referenced a character statement from the father of Georgiou's ex-partner.
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Burchill → reference → partner
'It says something positive about you for your ex-partner's father to give you this character reference,' she said.
'
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she → say → reference
It said that your focus was to care for your child and that you've made very poor decisions.'
The court heard Georgiou had a limited criminal record, including driving offences and drug possession.
In a separate matter in December, Georgiou received a 12-month community correction order without conviction for dishonesty offences.
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Georgiou → say → offences
Magistrate Burchill considered Georgiou's age and early guilty plea in sentencing.
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Burchill → consider → sentencing
'I take into account your remorse, and your remorse has been significant,' Magistrate Burchill said.
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Burchill → take → remorse
The court was told Georgiou had been abusing drugs and became involved with a group who taught her the methods to defraud taxpayers and flood-affected individuals.
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who → tell → taxpayers
Magistrate Burchill also noted that Georgiou's drug debt partially contributed to her offending.
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debt → note → offending
Georgiou also suffered significant trauma and grief from issues at school and the death of her ex-partner.
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Georgiou → suffer → partner
The court heard Georgiou holds a master's degree in business and marketing and has achieved a great deal professionally, with support from her family.
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Georgiou → hear → family
Georgiou was convicted and placed on a 12-month community correction order with conditions for drug addiction treatment.
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Georgiou → convict → treatment
'You're on the borderline of a Commonwealth suspended sentence which would... reflect a term of imprisonment,' Magistrate Burchill warned Georgiou.
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Burchill → suspend → Georgiou
'Breaching that [community correction] order would be horrific in what those consequences are...
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consequences → breach → order
if there are any more dishonesty offences you will most likely bypass that [suspended sentence] and go to jail.'
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you → be → jail
Georgiou was also ordered to repay the stolen money to Services Australia.
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Georgiou → order → Australia
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