Antonios allegedly had 100 claims pending alone,Arbinja said.
The alleged syndicate members then coached the “victims” through the process of fraudulent claims and used various Sydney law firms to enact the scam.
Seven people were arrested across Sydney and the Gold Coast in connection with the alleged scam.Credit:NSW Police
The law firms and the fake victims would split the remainder of the payouts,Arbinja said.
Nearly 4000 claims have been identified so far,Arbinja said,and many were “strikingly similar”.
Multiple law firms are being investigated for links or knowledge of the scam,and one has been raided by police already.
The alleged fraudsters stood to make $3.75 million if the claims were paid out,but police swooped before the claims could be processed.
The profits were known as “bum money” within the alleged syndicates,and detectives suspect a “significant portion” of the $1.3 billion of the claims made were fake.
Queensland Police arrested a 23-year-old man in Mermaid Beach. Arbinja said he is the second alleged chief of the syndicate.
One-third of all inmates in Cooma’s minimum security prison have lodged claims related to historic child abuse,Arbinja said,and police were investigating them thoroughly.
Police said they hoped the arrests and conversations with government now under way would “stop the bleeding”.
“NSW Police support legitimate victims;they should be compensated. The problem is the system is porous and needs to be strengthened,” Arbinja said.
“Unfortunately,in this instance it’s been exploited by an organised criminal network.”
Antonios faced Parramatta Local Court on Thursday on 21 charges,including fraud,misleading documents and inciting others to do the same.
Also among the arrests were a woman in Granville,aged 53,a man and woman in Pendle Hill,aged 32 and 35,a man in Gladesville,42,and a woman in Horsley,52.
All are expected to face court next month.
Arbinja said the arrests so far were “just the tip of the iceberg”.
“None of the claimants we looked at wanted police intervention – none. All wanted to go down the civil route,” he said.
“The system is porous and the threshold to put a claim in is low. It was done that way for a reason,with good intentions and in good faith because legitimate victims deserve compensation,criminals don’t.”
Lifeline 13 11 14
National Sexual Assault Counselling Service1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028