A man has been charged at Lake Macquarie, accused of ripping off NSW government financial relief grants to the tune of thousands of dollars.
Police formed Strike Force Sainsbery in late 2021 to investigate dishonest COVID-19 relief grant claims and have charged 89 people with 1522 counts since that time.
Detectives arrested a 33-year-old man following a vehicle stop on Dora Street at Morisset at about 9.30am an Saturday, November 4.
He was taken to Toronto Police Station where he was charged with 15 counts of dishonestly causing financial disadvantage by deception, and one count of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception.
The man was given bail and will face court in Sydney on November 16.
Police will allege he submitted 16 fraudulent claims to Service NSW as part of the COVID-19 Micro Business Support Grants and received $168,000 as a result.
Investigations by Strike Force Sainsbery continue.
