Christchurch fraudster Diane Baumann used stranger's driver's licence to claim $30,000 in payments

RNZ News

2 days ago

By
Al Williams
, Open Justice reporter
Diane Baumann used the driver's licence details of a stranger in a different city to create a fictious carer and receive payments while collecting ACC benefits.
Photo:
RNZ / Kate Newton
A mother of five used a stranger's driver's licence details to create a fictitious carer for herself so she could get nearly $30,000 in payments, while also collecting Accident Compensation Corporation benefits.
Diane Marie Baumann's deception only started to catch up with her when the real owner of the driver's licence, who lived in a different city, received correspondence from Inland Revenue.
Soon after, the woman also discovered she had a poor credit rating score because of the multiple debts Baumann had run up in her name.
Now Baumann, 39, also known as Diane Cox, has appeared for sentencing in the Christchurch District Court on multiple charges of using documents for pecuniary advantage.
Between November 2020 and April 2021, Baumann received an Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) benefit while receiving regular payments from Custom Care Nursing Limited.
She used her Rolleston address and her sibling's phone number as part of her client details.
Baumann used another phone number as the contact for the fictitious carer she had created for herself, using the victim's driver's licence details.
Over the next several months, Custom Care Nursing Limited deposited $26,957 into a bank account number allocated to Baumann under her alias, Diane Cox.
At the same time, Baumann opened accounts with Spark New Zealand, One New Zealand and Zip Co, using the victim's driver's licence details.
She received $3680 in services and products, which were never repaid.
The deception continued when she spoke to police and Oranga Tamariki on multiple occasions in 2024 with concerns about a family member she said was in a relationship with an older teen, known as Male A.
Baumann completed an unsupported child's benefit application form for Male A, requesting that benefit payments be made to an account named D. Cox.
On the application, she said Male A had come into her care and that she was "fully supporting" him and denied having had any contact with a social worker from Oranga Tamariki or other authorised agencies.
She then texted Male A's mother, saying she needed to meet her to get his medication.
His mother replied, telling Baumann she would be getting the cops at her door and that it was not funny that she had not informed her that Male A was at her residence.
Again, she completed an unsupported child's benefit interview form, recording that the arrangement for Male A to live with her had become permanent.
The pair then attended a face-to-face interview with an assessor from Barnardos regarding the application, with Baumann claiming Male A would be staying in her spare bedroom, which had just been left vacant by her son.
She said she had tried to get Male A's birth certificate and clothing from his mother but was unsuccessful. Baumann's son had not been living with her prior to the interview.
At the end of the 2021 financial year, the woman who owned the driver's licence received correspondence from Inland Revenue regarding her employment at Customer Care Nursing Limited. She had never worked for them.
In 2022, the victim's bank manager printed off her credit score, which showed debts accumulated in her name that she was not responsible for.
The woman then conducted her own investigation using three debt collection agencies.
Through them, she discovered that the addresses and phone numbers used in the accounts under her name were unknown to her.
It turned out Baumann had managed to set up employee contracts, opt out of KiwiSaver and fill in tax code documents, all signed in the victim's name.
She also used an email address with the victim's name which had no association to the victim.
It remains unclear how Baumann got the woman's driver's licence and personal details as she declined to comment on any of the offending. She also refused to provide the Pin number to her cellphone.
Judge Gerard Lynch said Baumann's offending had caused significant financial implications for the victim.
"She was upset to find out she had a bad credit rating," Lynch said.
"The victim says, 'I wish she would put this amount of effort into getting a real job'."
The judge said Baumann had two previous convictions for theft and deception in 2017.
She had used methamphetamine as a daily coping mechanism with regards to access to her children and there had been relationship issues.
Judge Lynch said there was an ongoing need for rehabilitation and that he would impose home detention to promote her rehabilitation.
"Given the personal background and drug misuse, I will adopt rehabilitation over a punitive approach.
"When we deal with government departments, we can't expect them to drill down and check every application, if they did, things would ... grind to a stop."
Judge Lynch said there were remorse, addiction and personal factors.
"The reality here is there was no defence to these charges.
"Nothing is going to be gained by sending you to prison, you are on notice now, if you offend again, you won't be bailed."
The judge said there was no realistic prospect of reparation and partial reparation had been offered.
He ordered that $7500 reparation be paid and sentenced Baumann to six months' home detention.
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