A Melbourne disability support service director has admitted rorting the NDIS out of almost $300,000 by charging for services she never provided.
Mumthaj Begam Kantara, 60, pleaded guilty to 14 counts of dishonest conduct causing a loss to the NDIS in the County Court on Friday after initially telling investigators their accusations were “crazy”.
Kantara claimed $296,012 in payments for services not provided to five participants – one who was overseas at the time – between January 2019 and November 2022 while running Elite Smart Community Care in Campbellfield, the Herald Sun reported.
The payments, which were all authorised by Kantara, were for services such as community social and recreational activities, short-term accommodation and respite, self-care assistance and co-ordination of support services.
The family member of one of the participants said in a victim impact statement that Kantara’s theft caused the participant “significant stress” and made them feel a “deep sense of betrayal”.
Judge John Kelly noted the money had not been repaid, and said Kantara had repeatedly stolen from a “vulnerable sector of the community” for three years.
Kantara’s bail was extended until March 2026, when she will reappear in court for sentencing, and her lawyer told the court her client’s prospects for rehabilitation was good, and that she had not offended since 2022.
She also argued that Kantara was of good character, and a mitigating factor in sentencing should be the hardship it would cause her family as she provides care for her husband, one of her children, and one of her grandchildren.
The lawyer further told the court that Kantara’s business was a genuine provider of disability support services and did not exist solely to exploit, and denied her client was motivated by greed as there was no evidence she had spent the money on luxury items.
Header image: Kantara at a Multicultural business dinner with then-NDIS Minister Bill Shorten in 2022 (Facebook).
