A Thurgoona man who lost his job as a disability support worker in the wake of ripping-off almost $60,000 in dole payments was kicked out of his rental home late on Tuesday afternoon.
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That was just hours after the unshaven 48-year-old fronted his sentencing hearing in Albury Local Court, wearing shorts and looking relaxed.
But the court was told Mark Massey had hit hard times financially and would now have to seek emergency housing.
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Ironically, his lawyer said, Massey was now surviving solely on the Newstart allowance.
Magistrate Rodney Brender said Massey's offending had definitely crossed the threshold for jail, given he had rorted $58,349.87.
"In your case it's quite a large amount and it's over quite a long period of time," Mr Brender said, pointing out how Massey made 118 separate false declarations.
He told Massey that the ramifications of the crime were "going to be hanging around your neck" for years.
But instead of making him serve his sentence by way of full-time custody, he imposed a seven-month intensive corrections order.
The court was told that Massey accepted he had acted out of greed, though the extra money did not fund a better lifestyle or pay for vices such as gambling.
Rather, all the cash went towards his daily living expenses.
Being charged and fronting court - he pleaded guilty in January to a single charge of receiving a financial advantage from a Commonwealth entity between September 1, 2014, and June 1, 2018 - meant he was targeted on social media.
He accepted he would never again be employed as a disability support worker.
Massey must also complete 100 hours of unpaid community work.
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