The recent prosecution of three commercial passenger vehicle drivers demonstrates Safe Transport Victoria’s commitment to investigate and prosecute attempts to defraud the Multi Purpose Taxi Program (MPTP).
The drivers, acting separately, stole a combined total of $54,615 by double-charging or inflating the price of legitimate trips and claiming a greater payment than they were legally allowed to.
The money was stolen from the MPTP, a program funding subsidised journeys for people with permanent disability.
The fraudulent activities were detected by Safe Transport Victoria’s ongoing internal auditing processes. Safe Transport Victoria compiled evidence and prosecuted each of the three drivers in the Dandenong, Geelong and Werribee magistrate’s courts.
One of the drivers was fined $2,000 (currently being appealed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, as the sentence was considered too lenient, another was convicted and fined $2,500, and the third was given a 12-month community correction order that includes 100 hours of community work.
The driver accreditation of all three has been cancelled by Safe Transport Victoria and the drivers were ordered to repay the money they stole.
The MPTP is funded by taxpayers and is intended to help the travel needs of community members living with disability. Drivers and booking service providers must ensure all transactions are processed in accordance with these guidelines.