A Man Committed Insurance Fraud & Said 'Gay Lifestyle' Made Him Do It

A 25-year-old man in Australia pleaded guilty to medical health insurance fraud, the proceeds from which he used to fund his flashy gay lifestyle.

According to a report in the Star Observer, Dwayne Antojado skipped parole and moved to Melbourne, where he set up over 100 identities which he used in bogus claims to Medibank Insurance, spending the money on clothes, clubbing, and cocaine.

"That offending was how he got the money to keep up with the lifestyle he had adopted," Matt Cookson, Antojado's lawyer, told the Melbourne County Court. "It was through that money that he acquired the lifestyle."

Antojado skipped parole for an unnamed past crime in the neighboring state of South Australia in 2017 and moved to Melbourne where he was immediately drawn to the local gay scene. Cookson said his client felt pressured to fit into the scene, which he said was "heavily based on going out, clubbing, being fit, healthy, and well-dressed," which was "everything he [Antojado] wasn't."

Cookson told the court his client created 109 different identities, which he used to purchase inexpensive health insurance policies, paying the bare minimum in premiums to keep the policies active. Since Medibank didn't require receipts for claims filed online, Antojado was able to submit multiple bogus claims with ease. He funneled the money into accounts he controlled. He used the reimbursed money to fund his lavish gay Australian lifestyle.

His lawyer went on to describe Antojado's drug use as opportunistic, saying his "drugs of choice" were cocaine and MDMA in part because they "allowed him to fit in" with others in the gay scene.

Antojado's criminal scheme came crashing down when he was arrested on unrelated charges in June 2019. After a search warrant and investigation revealed his other nefarious activities, he was arrested again in December 2019 and charged with insurance fraud.

It is unclear what jail time awaits Antojado. He has spent over 600 days on remand, and sentencing won't take place until March of next year. Antojado was released on bail on the strict condition he goes home and lives with his mother.

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