NEARLY 100 charges have now been laid against a former Bathurst Regional Council employee who is alleged to have corruptly and dishonestly received more than $850,000 in benefits.
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Another 62 charges were added to the list at the Bathurst Court House this week.
A co-accused man, from the Central Coast, is also facing 97 charges to be heard in a Bathurst Local Court committal hearing that could proceed on September 13, according to the Director of Public Prosecutions solicitor Roger Montgomery.
The alleged fraud was discovered after a council agency uncovered alleged accounting discrepancies.
Initially briefs of evidence were to have been served in January, 2010.
However, in May this year it was indicated that further large sums of money could be identified from bank documents being sought by police.
Geoffrey Leonard Hadley, 55, of Pine Street, Bathurst is alleged to have acted corruptly as a council depot employee.
He is alleged to have obtained substantial amounts allegedly given or offered by Robin Noel Newman, 55, of Barr Street, Merewether on several occasions over about five years, between December 2003 and September 2008.
Both men were apprehended by police late last year, Hadley on Friday, October 9 in Bathurst after Newman had been apprehended by police at Toronto, near Newcastle, two days earlier.
Both were arrested in relation to alleged corruption involving $851,563.13 that allegedly changed hands between December 10, 2003 and September 14, 2008.
The first 25 charges both men faced allegedly involved amounts of money ranging from as little as $2000 in June 2005 to as much $20,000 on August 17, the same year.
According to the charges Hadley, acting as an agent, allegedly issued false invoices, with the first amount, $10,000, allegedly obtained on December 19, 2004.
Hadley allegedly then issued false invoices to obtain tens of thousands of dollars over the next three years.
Newman is alleged to have corruptly given or offered amounts of between $500 and $15,000 to Hadley on 21 occasions, corruptly given or offered to give $15,000, and corruptly given or offered between $2,000 and $5,000 on two occasions and made a false statement to obtain money.
All of the 62 fresh charges against Hadley and Newman yesterday alleged the use of false invoices which they knew to be false with the intent of inducing another person to accept them as genuine.
The fresh allegations also included dates beyond December 2007, with allegations of further false invoices, two in February, one in March, two in April, two in June, three in August and two in September 2008.
One of the fresh charges also referred to September 2006 and an amount of $9000 allegedly obtained by Hadley signing a false invoice.
Both men have been allowed continuing bail by magistrate Jan Stevenson. While Newman attended court yesterday, Hadley had been excused.
