A woman who claimed nearly $40,000 in Working for Families tax credits by posing as a solo mother was busted when her so-called ‘cousin’ was revealed to be her secret lover.
The duo’s cover was blown when Mr. X, the mystery man, blabbed to Inland Revenue that he was actually the woman’s boyfriend, living it up in her house.
The woman had been raking in the cash from Working For Families tax credits for four years, from 2015 to 2018, playing the part of a struggling single mum. But the taxman wasn’t fooled – and Inland Revenue cried foul, pointing to a trail of evidence including cozy couple holidays, lovey-dovey social media posts, and Mr. X tagging along to her work events – all classic signs of a romantic entanglement.
As the Taxation Review Authority dug deeper, it uncovered that Mr. X had not only given the woman’s address as his own to his employer but also to Inland Revenue, cheekily referring to her as his girlfriend. ATM and bank records further exposed their intertwined finances, with regular money transfers and Mr. X even naming her as his next of kin.
Despite the woman’s desperate attempts to convince the Authority that their relationship was nothing more than ‘simple convenience’, the evidence against her was damning. Authority member Grant Pearson said her defense was “wholly unconvincing”, leaving no doubt that she was indeed in a de facto relationship with Mr. X.
To add insult to injury, the woman argued that the money she used to feed her gambling addiction shouldn’t count against her. But the Authority was having none of it.
The woman now has to cough up a whopping $39,739 in repaid tax credits.
