Sydney Man to Face Court Over Alleged $1.5m Medicare Rort

A man accused of impersonating government officials in a $1.5 million (US$1.05 million) Medicare rort will face court. 

The 41-year-old was arrested in a house in Emu Plains, west of Sydney, after Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the government’s fraud taskforce began an investigation in September 2025. 

Police allege the man impersonated Services Australia staff to get information from medical practitioners. 

That information was then allegedly used to make fraudulent Medicare claims, worth a total of $1.5 million. 

At the time of his arrest in July, the man was the subject of active arrest warrants in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia, police said. 

Officers searched his house, where they found and seized a phone, laptop and several identity documents. 

He was charged with influencing and impersonating a Commonwealth public official and is expected to face Penrith Local Court on Oct. 9 after being denied bail in July. 

AFP Detective Superintendent Tim Underhill said the force was targeting those who defrauded systems on which Australians rely.

“This alleged offending strikes at the heart of Australia’s health system and diverts critical funds away from those most in need,” he said. 

“Law enforcement across the country is united in working together to stop criminal groups and individuals defrauding [those] systems.”

By Sarah Spina-Matthews in Sydney