A Middle Eastern NDIS business director has been arrested in western Sydney and charged for his alleged role in defrauding the scheme out of $3.5 million.
Billal Chami, 31, faced Sydney Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday after being arrested at a unit in Villawood in December last year, where Fraud Fusion Taskforce (FFT) investigators allegedly found $35,000, air guns and gel blasters.
He was charged with one count of “dealing with money reasonably suspected of being proceeds of an indictable crime to the value of $1,000,000.00 or more”, which carries a maximum penalty of four years’ imprisonment.
The FFT, which is made up of officers from the Australian Federal Police, National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) and the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, said it began investigating Chami in February 2025 after ACIC detected “anomalies” in his finances.
FFT investigators allegedly found Chami was involved in laundering $3.5 million in cash defrauded from the NDIS, and is accused of withdrawing cash from various bank accounts and different banks between 2022 and 2025 to aid himself and others in the laundering of suspected proceeds of crime.
It is alleged the money was derived from fraudulent claims submitted to the NDIS, including in circumstances where supports and services were not provided to participants.
Chami, who has not entered a plea, was granted bail with conditions including not contacting 26 NDIS participants and a multiple plan management companies, living at home with his mother and two sisters, and not using encrypted apps on his phone, The Daily Telegraph reported.
He was ordered to give police password and fingerprint access to his phone, and not to work with any disability organisation.
NDIA Chief Executive Graeme Head said the FTT would continue acting to prevent NDIS fraud.
“We act without apology to protect the interests and wellbeing of participants in the NDIS,” Mr Head said.
“Most providers do the right thing, but for the small number who don’t, expect a knock on the door.”
NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commissioner Louise Glanville said: “Fraud against the NDIS will not be tolerated. By working together with our FFT partners, we are removing bad actors and ensuring those who abuse the Scheme are held accountable.”
The FTT last year admitted billions of dollars more than previously estimated was being stolen from the NDIS by fraudsters including Middle Eastern crime gangs.
Header image: Left, right, Chami during the arrest and search (AFP).
