A once‑trusted Melbourne NDIS provider boss who brazenly rorted almost $300,000 from vulnerable clients has been jailed for three years.
Mumthaj Begam Kantara, 60, former director of Elite Smart Community Care in Campbellfield, pleaded guilty to 14 counts of dishonest conduct after issuing fraudulent payment claims for services never delivered between 2019 and 2022.
She targeted non‑English‑speaking participants from Melbourne’s Turkish and Arabic‑speaking communities, pocketing $296,012 for services she never provided including social and recreational activities and respite care.
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 condemned her for exploiting vulnerable clients and depriving others of essential NDIS support, saying victims were left depressed, hurt and betrayed.
‘You had countless opportunities to reflect on the damage you were doing but you persisted,’ he said.
‘You knew intimately the extent your clients would be hurt but you ploughed on.
‘The taxpayer was the primary victim but your clients have had their lives upended and trust shattered.
Mumthaj Begam Kantara (pictured) was the director of Elite Smart Community Care
‘I do not know what you did with the money you stole … greed seems the most likely explanation.
‘You have not repaid a cent and you evidently propose not to.’
Kantara was sentenced to a maximum of three years’ jail, but must serve at least 14 months before she can be released on recognisance of $5,000 and to be of good behaviour for three years.
Her sentencing is the second in a week amid a federal crackdown on NDIS crime.
Last week, Kim Michael Schubert received a three‑year sentence (nine months to serve) and was ordered to repay $40,000 after sharing participant details that enabled more than $190,000 in fraudulent claims.
NDIS Minister Jenny McAllister said criminals who target people with disability ‘belong in prison,’ highlighting ongoing taskforce operations with 660 investigations underway and almost 200 individuals and providers banned from the scheme.
‘If you exploit people with a disability and try to defraud vulnerable people who speak English as a second language, you do not belong in the NDIS. You belong in prison,’ she said.
‘We’re disrupting and removing dodgy providers from the NDIS because Australians with disability and taxpayers deserve better.
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission has banned almost 200 individuals and providers from the NDIS as a result of taskforce operations (stock image)
‘If you steal from people with a disability and from the scheme designed to help them, then we will throw the book at you.’
The Fraud Fusion Taskforce has 660 investigations underway and has referred 59 people to court.
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission has banned almost 200 individuals and providers from the NDIS as a result of taskforce operations.
