A former crane driver caught running a fitness studio while receiving workers’ compensation will be required to repay $61,000 after she pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining payments.  

29-year-old Stephanie Carroll began receiving weekly compensation payments in October 2020 after she lodged a claim for a work-related adjustment disorder that caused stress and anxiety.  

A WorkSafe investigation in June 2021 found that Ms Carroll had taken over a lease and franchise for a fitness studio in Ballarat, where she was the sole director, operator and signatory on the business’s bank account.   

Ms Carroll had not disclosed to WorkSafe that she had been operating the business and continued to receive payments until they were terminated in December 2021.  

A Geelong Magistrates’ Court sentenced her to a 12-month community corrections order with 125 hours of unpaid community work and required her to pay WorkSafe $59,001 in restitution plus a further $2000 in costs.  

“Anyone attempting this kind of fraud should know that workers compensation fraud is a serious crime and will be met with serious consequences,” WorkSafe Executive Director Insurance Roger Arnold said.  

“The WorkSafe scheme provides crucial support to injured workers – people who defraud the system take money and resources away from injured workers in legitimate need and threaten the integrity of the entire scheme.”