A Hunter woman who fraudulently obtained more than $16,000 worth of relief grants has been spared jail.
Tara Lee Mexon was sentenced to two years of supervision by Community Corrections, 200 hours of community service, and $1800 worth of fines when she faced Raymond Terrace Local Court on Monday afternoon.
The court heard that Mexon was addicted to illicit drugs and homeless when she successfully applied for a COVID-19 pandemic business support grant for more than $15,000, three COVID-19 community grants worth $320 each, and $500 in government money available to those affected by the mouse plague.
Mexon, who was on bail at the time she was sentenced, had since pulled her life together, the court heard, and was now employed, living in stable accommodation in suburban Newcastle, and had not taken illicit drugs in the past 14 months.
Magistrate Kirralee Perry said Mexon's effort to stay off drugs and the insight she now showed into her crimes indicated she had "come a very long way".
But Ms Perry said Mexon's fraud meant others in the community who were genuinely entitled to financial support would have missed out, and she was "knocking on the door of a full-time jail sentence".
"It is always unfortunate when methods are put in place to help those who need it and are abused," Ms Perry said.
