A Melbourne tiler has been convicted of fraud after he lodged a workers’ compensation claim after sustaining a back injury in September 2019 and received payments until early 2022 while working at a number of properties.

Rahmatullah Jafari, 28, had falsely declared on all his certificates of capacity that he had not worked. 

He pleaded guilty to one charge of fraudulently obtaining payments and was sentenced in the Dandenong Magistrates' Court on November 16. 

Jafari was ordered to repay $92,774 and placed on a two-year Community Corrections Order requiring him to perform 240 hours of unpaid community work. His employer Excellent Tiling and Waterproofing was fined $1000 for failing to notify that a worker who had been receiving weekly payments had returned to work.

WorkSafe Executive Director Insurance Roger Arnold says such dishonesty undermines the WorkCover system.

"If you are caught cheating the system the consequences will be serious,” he said.

Jafari had injured his back while working for his brother-in-law's company but performed worked at a number of properties for both Excellent Tiling and his own tiling company while receiving the compensation payments throughout all of 2020 and 2021.