Former Dual Australia manager Josie Gonzalez, who is accused of defrauding the underwriting agency, cannot be trusted, the County Court of Victoria heard today.

Actions she took after joining Dual as national claims manager support the prosecution’s case that she and husband Alvaro Gonzalez “obtained financial advantage by deception”, prosecuting barrister Andrew Grant told the jury in his closing submission.

“With Josie Gonzalez’ evidence, you should reject it,” he said. “You couldn’t accept her as a reliable witness.”

The pair have pleaded not guilty to 14 counts of obtaining a financial advantage by deception between March 2011 and May 2013.

They are alleged to have duped Dual Australia out of $17.4 million by submitting more than 400 fraudulent invoices for legal services from Jaag Lawyers, a law firm the couple set up.

Josie Gonzalez was a director of the law firm and Alvaro Gonzalez its only employee.

The legal services provided were never authorised or approved by the underwriting agency, the jury was told during the trial.

“The invoices are false, they contain false representations,” Mr Grant said. “From the very start, the deception was concealed and the invoices themselves appeared legitimate.”

That Jaag Lawyers assigned the number 14570 to the first invoice it sent Dual was significant, Mr Grant says.

“We know that Jaag had no other clients… [the number was] to give the perception that this was just another client of the company. The only client that Jaag had was Dual.”

Jaag Lawyers, which was named after the couple, was incorporated shortly after Josie Gonzalez joined Dual in November 2010 as national claims manager, the court heard.

The alleged fraud was uncovered in June 2013, a month after she began maternity leave.

A freezing order was put on the couple’s finances and a caveat placed on the property of Josie Gonzalez’ parents, which prevented any sale.

In September 2013 the couple agreed to repay the money in question. They sold a $4.4 million house in Kew and a property in Carlton North, and returned all money in their bank account.

The trial continues.