CORIO FEMALE FRAUDSTER SENT TO PRISON:
Judge doubts chances of rehabilitation
A SERIAL fraudster has been jailed for at least three years after stooging the ANZ bank out of more than $700,000.
Corio woman Maria Alimic (pictured) was sentenced in the County Court on Thursday after a jury found her guilty on two fraud charges, including obtaining financial advantage by deception.
In 2016, the former mortgage broker obtained a $704,000 home loan from ANZ after submitting fake pay slips on behalf of a man she had met through online dating.
It was not the only scam Alimic took part in that year, with the mother of two later trying to obtain a $250,000 loan in the same man’s name, despite him having no idea of the application.
She also defrauded the Commonwealth in 2016 by claiming more than $18,000 in Medicare benefits she was not entitled to receive.
Judge Paul Lacava expressed grave reservations about Alimic’s ability to rehabilitate as he sentenced her to a maximum prison term of 4½ years.
Judge Lacava said the 52year-old had shown no remorse for her crimes, which mirrored frauds she had committed dating back to the early 1990s.
“Your criminal history suggests to me that you will reoffend in a fraudulent way (if) given the opportunity,” he said.
“You’ve shown no regret or remorse for your offending and you have a tendency to blame others for almost every aspect of your troubled life.
“In my judgment, you are capable of defrauding government, business and anyone vulnerable who may per chance have to come into contact with you.”
The court heard Alimic suffered anxiety and depression, which largely stemmed from an abusive relationship she endured in her early adulthood.
Despite acknowledging those issues, Judge Lacava said a strong message needed to be sent for Alimic’s deceptions.
He said the practice of obtaining loans could not properly function when people behaved as she did.
“You simply lied as it suited you to advance your personal financial dealings,” he said.
All of the money obtained from the ANZ was eventually recovered. Alimic has been in custody since October 2016 and was earlier this year sentenced to a six-month jail term for stealing more than $50,000 from Centrelink.