A 70-year-old retired hospital worker is facing a $347,000 bill after committing 20 years of benefit fraud.
Pauline Urana Lowen pleaded guilty to five charges - two are representative charges covering dozens of individual fraud offences at the Christchurch District Court on Thursday, Christchurch Court News reports.
In 1984, Lowen was granted a domestic purposes benefit following the birth of her son, which she received until 2003. That same year she applied for an invalids benefit, saying she had lower back pain and was unable to work.
Ten years later she became eligible for superannuation and applied for it as a single person living alone.
The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) was meant to be notified of any changes to her circumstances that might affect her entitlement and the rate of benefit. This included changes to her work, financial circumstances or her relationship situation.
An inquiry into Lowen began as a result of information the MSD received. This found that Lowen had been in a relationship in 1997 and married her partner later that year.
The couple have lived together since, yet Lowen did not tell the MSD about the relationship, that her partner was employed or that she was not entitled to a single rate of benefit, Christchurch Court News reports.
In 2008 Lowen started work for the Canterbury District Health Board, and was not detected by data matching by the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) as she was using a different IRD number to the one she used for her benefit.
She had submitted forms to the MSD that stated she was not working and was unable to work, so she continued to receive a single rate of invalid's benefit.
Over the 20 years she submitted 49 forms to the MSD containing false details about her relationship status, her work, and her income and assets.
The court was told Lowen was struggling to arrange repayments because of an order from police freezing her assets so they can seize them.
She has been remanded on bail for sentencing on December 19.
Newshub.
