Insurance fraud job

Hospital aide set fire to her car in bid to cash in on insurance

A HOSPITAL aide who set fire to her car and pretended it had been stolen has avoided jail. In the Hobart Supreme Court, Justice Michael Brett described the act as an “all too common type of insurance fraud”.

A HOSPITAL aide who set fire to her car and pretended it had been stolen in an attempt to cash in on her $23,000 insurance policy has avoided jail.

Michelle Maree Woolley, 51, was sentenced in the Supreme Court in Hobart on Thursday after pleading guilty to one count of unlawfully setting fire to property and one count of attempting to dishonestly acquire a financial advantage.

Justice Michael Brett described the act as an “all too common type of insurance fraud”.

Woolley committed the crime with her partner, but the court heard the pair have since split up.

Justice Brett said they took the vehicle to a relatively remote location and set it alight on March 3 last year.

“Your car had been developing mechanical issues for some time,” he said.

“Rather than fixing or replacing it, you and he decided to set it on fire, pretend that it had been stolen and make a claim on its comprehensive insurance policy.”

The following day Woolley falsely reported to police the car had been stolen before lodging a claim with the insurance company by phone.

“If the claim had been paid out, you would have received $23,100,” Justice Brett said.

“Fortunately, the insurance company became immediately suspicious and your dishonest conduct was detected by extensive investigation by the insurance investigator and the police.”

When interviewed on May 30, 2018, Woolley maintained the false story was the truth.

But her co-accused, who was also interviewed on the same day, confessed to what the couple had done.

Conversations recorded covertly after the interview indicated Woolley’s intention was to continue lying to police.

It was not until June 28 last year that she approached a detective and admitted her involvement.

“Your conduct in this case involved premeditated and blatant dishonesty,” Justice Brett said.

“Insurance companies, in particular, are vulnerable to criminal conduct of this nature. But for the diligence and thoroughness of both the insurance company and the police, your attempted fraud would have been successful.”

Justice Brett said the conduct was completely out of character for Woolley, whose only prior convictions were some traffic offences and a very old conviction for assault.

He said Woolley had led an “industrious working life” as a hospital aide.

Justice Brett said he accepted Woolley was now ashamed of her actions, but was not convinced she had shown genuine remorse.

She was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, with the entire sentence suspended for 18 months subject to a condition she not commit an offence punishable by imprisonment during that period. Justice Brett made a compensation order in favour of Insurance Australia Limited in an amount to be assessed.