Father, daughter admit $60k fraud

A Taranaki father and daughter have admitted defrauding the Ministry of Health's home care scheme of almost $60,000 over 14 years.

Anne-Marie Farquhar, 32, was sentenced to six months jail for her part in the offending at the Hawera District Court yesterday, the Taranaki Daily News reported.

Her wheelchair-bound father, Graeme Henry Farquhar, did not appear as he was in Taranaki Base Hospital with an unspecified illness.

Judge Allan Roberts said an arrest warrant would be issued if he did not appear in court by tomorrow morning or supply a medical certificate.

A third person, family friend Anthony Hoskin was fined for a lesser role in the offending.

The scam involved claiming money for home help that was never provided.

Graeme Farquhar, 66, retired, of Hawera, claimed just over $25,000 he wasn't entitled to since 1995. He had admitted 32 charges of fraudulently using a document at an earlier appearance.

Anne-Marie Farquhar, unemployed, also admitted 10 charges at a prior appearance. She became involved in 1998 and had signed a number of claim forms since then for a total sum of $15,593.90 from the ministry.

Hoskin, a 37-year-old Waitara carer was fined $300 plus court costs on each of the six charges he had admitted. He was asked by the Farquhars to sign forms for claims worth $16,206.60.

His lawyer Rajan Rai claimed Hoskin received no benefit from the payments that went to Graeme Farquhar.

Judge Roberts told the defendants it was a crime that needed to be taken seriously.

"Fraud of this type of government departments or agencies designed to provide assistance to those who need help is rife throughout this country."

- NZPA