A childcare worker who ripped off Australian taxpayers to the tune of $88,051 while earning more than $80,000 a year has been jailed for just three months. Ikraam Mohamud, 31, of Reservoir – north of Melbourne – claimed she was only looking after her family when she blew up to $2000 a day while rorting Australia’s child welfare system. She was jailed on Wednesday for two years, but will serve just three months before being released on a Commonwealth version of a good behaviour bond. Ikraam Mohamud, 31, of Reservoir could have been jailed for 10 years after ripping of the government in a welfare scam Ikraam Mohamud was shielded by supporters as she entered the County Court of Victoria on WednesdayBank records seized by police reveal Mohamud would routinely make withdrawals of between $1000-$2000 at a time. The transactions appeared time and time again on her statements, with $1000 withdrawals appearing days on end. What she was spending it on remains a mystery. RELATED ARTICLES Previous 1 Next Centrelink recipients could soon be randomly drug tested by… Homeless man is accused of collecting dead woman’s… ‘I thought I’d done the right thing’: Mother’s dire warning… ‘I’m being made out to be a criminal’: Woman is forced to… Share this article Share Before sentencing, County Court of Victoria Judge Richard Smith asked Mohamud why she was wearing a head scarf in the prison dock. ‘Is that a religious requirement?’ he asked. Mohamud had arrived at court surrounded by supporters who shielded her from a waiting media pack. The fraudster hid her face with a niqab and wore dark sunglasses on entering the court, but revealed her face upon facing sentence. Mohamud’s barrister advised Judge Smith his client was a Muslim. Upon sentencing, Judge Smith said he still had no idea what Mohamud had blown the cash on. He criticised Mohamud for her behaviour and said she knew what she was doing was wrong. ‘Your offending was deliberate,’ he said. ‘And it went on for four years.’Crown prosecutor Kathryn Thornton had earlier described Mohamad’s case as ‘one of greed’, not of need. Judge Smith agreed, declaring that nothing short of an immediate prison term would be appropriate. But he accepted Mohamud had pleaded guilty to the crime early, had co-operated with police and displayed remorse by entering a payment plan to repay her huge debt. That plan will see Mohamud pay $15 a fortnight until the debt is repaid. ‘That will take many, many years to repay,’ Judge Smith acknowledged. Until now, Mohamud hasn’t repaid a cent. The court heard when Mohamud was nabbed by police she cried poor and claimed she was worried about not having a roof over her head. Mohamud knew she was doing wrong, but the $710 payments each fortnight was good coin on top of her daycare money. It was only a matter of time until Centrelink caught up with her. Ikraam Mohamud makes a phone call outside the County Court of Victoria at an earlier hearing. She had just days to
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