A Woodbridge, Western Australia, man has been sentenced to three years and 10 months’ imprisonment for fraudulently attempting to access almost $400,000 in superannuation and life insurance benefits of his girlfriend after her unexpected death in 2019.
The man, 32, was sentenced in the Perth District Court on 7 June, 2024, after being found guilty by a jury in March, 2024, of logging into the woman’s superannuation account on her mobile phone and changing the beneficiary nomination to his own details.
The AFP charged the man in July 2020 after investigating claims the woman’s superannuation account had been accessed in the hours after her death from medical complications.
AFP Detective Inspector Andrea Coleman said highly-skilled AFP investigators worked hard every day to prevent people from profiting at the expense of others.
“In this case, we have helped to protect this young woman’s nest-egg and ensure the money is provided to the beneficiary who she chose.”
The woman’s relatives had reported concerns about her financial affairs after the man tried to get a copy of her death certificate.
The man was convicted after a jury trial of one count of using a mobile phone to commit a serious offence (fraud), contrary to subsection 474.14(2) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).
He was sentenced to three years and 10 months’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of one year and 11 months.
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