Rideshare driver convicted over workers compensation fraud
12 Mar 2025•BlueSafe Team•Source: WorkSafe VIC
A worker who earned more than $81,000 driving rideshare while receiving workers compensation has been convicted and placed on an 18-month Community Correction Order.
Abid Khan, 37, pleaded guilty in the Moorabbin Magistrates' Court to one charge of obtaining financial advantage by deception and one charge of fraudulently obtaining payments. He was sentenced on Wednesday 5 March.
The court heard Khan injured his shoulder in January 2017 while employed as a car park cleaner and sweeper operator. His workers compensation claim was subsequently accepted.
An investigation in January 2023 found Khan had earned more than $81,000 from rideshare driving since September 2020. During that period, he also received $125,939 in weekly compensation and superannuation payments.
Khan supplied medical certificates stating he had no capacity to work, without telling his GP or WorkSafe agent about his driving work. He also rejected suggestions that he work as a rideshare driver, saying persistent arm pain meant he could not drive for more than 10 minutes.
Return to Work Victoria Executive Director Jason Lardelli described Khan's deliberate and prolonged effort to defraud the workers compensation scheme as disappointing.
"We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to uphold the integrity of the scheme and ensure those who knowingly attempt to defraud the system are found and held to public account."