Eight-month pregnant woman pleads guilty to 34 charges after sending money to herself from brother's phone

A 39-year-old woman has pleaded guilty to dozens of charges in which she sent money to her own bank account from her brother’s phone up to seven times per day. The woman faced 34 charges of gains benefit by fraud at Joondalup Magistrates Court on Friday less than two weeks before she is due to give birth. The offences occurred between May 31 and June 7 in 2022, when the woman used her brother’s phone to transfer funds from his bank account into hers. The court heard the amounts transferred ranged from about $300 to $1000 each time and multiple times a day at an address in Banksia Grove. On some days she transferred money into her account five to seven times. Magistrate Evan Shackleton described the transfers of “$2000-$3000 a day” as “significant”. The woman had previously pleaded not guilty to the charges before she changed her plea on Friday. She told the court she had offered to pay her brother back “$200 once a week when I could, but he refused”. The woman’s lawyer told the court she was a domestic violence victim and was using the money to pay her partner’s rent. However, she admitted that “less than half” was used on herself. The police prosecutor told the court they were unlikely to pursue prosecution due to her circumstances in expecting a child. She will reappear at Joondalup Magistrates court on July 7 for sentencing, with Mr Shackleton ordering a pre-sentencing report.