A truckie has been ordered to pay $85,000 after falsely claiming he could not return to work.
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Simon Scott, 57, has been sentenced in the Echuca Magistrates' Court on one charge of dishonestly obtaining advantage by deception.
Scott was working as an interstate truck driver when he was seriously injured in a 2014 crash, WorkSafe said.
He started getting weekly worker compensation payments.
Social media post
In December, 2018 Scott posted to social media about a new interstate trucking job, which prompted an investigation.
That found Scott had earned $55,000 as a truck driver for five different companies for a year and a half while continuing to tell his GP, insurer and independent medical examiner he had not returned to work.
Scott has now been ordered to repay $73,062, fined $10,000 and ordered to pay costs of $2000.
Return to Work Victoria executive director Jason Lardelli said there was no excuse for such dishonesty.
"Our workers compensation scheme is there to help those who genuinely need it to support their recovery and return to work," he said.
