Childcare centre don't tend to be at the centre of a sophisticated criminal operation.

In this case though, that’s exactly where they happened to be.

Several law enforcement agencies worked together to execute 34 search warrants at 18 properties and vehicles across Sydney in a fraud investigation.

Police received information that a criminal syndicate, allegedly directed by a 46-year-old woman and a 29-year-old man, was operating a sophisticated scam and collected up to $500,000 in government payments in the past eight months, including $138,000 from the COVID-19 stimulus package that was developed to support the childcare sector.

Police arrested the two ringleaders and 11 other people in relation to an alleged criminal syndicate operating a large-scale family daycare fraud in Sydney’s south-west.

It is always so disappointing to see these crooks trying to make misbegotten gains from taxpayers’ money.

But this type of scam, where we see criminal syndicates ripping off taxpayers through childcare centres or through the NDIS to make a quick buck, is all too common.

The scale of this operation reveals that Police have likely known about this for some time and have worked together with other agencies to make these arrests.

Be sure to check out the latest episode of BUSTED to find out more about this day care fraud syndicate.

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