NDIA employee Olufunke Kuburat Fatungase charged with abuse of public office

An NDIA employee has faced court for the first time accused of running a $5m fraud plot with her brother.

Olufunke Kuburat Fatungase, 49, faced the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Thursday after she allegedly accessed protected participant records without authorisation through her employment.

Her brother, Foluso Semiu Omole, 38, was denied bail on Monday after he allegedly used his position as the director of a registered NDIS provider to lodge claims for financial gain.

A had prosecutor opposed all forms of bail for Mr Omole, saying he was arrested allegedly trying to leave the country on Friday night.

“In the last week he appears to have cut ties here … stopped his employment, stopped paying his workers … and purchased a one-way ticket to Nigeria,” the prosecutor said.

The court heard Mr Omole, a dual Nigerian and Australian citizen, had allegedly sent “significant” funds back to Nigeria, where his wife is based. His wife is not accused of any wrongdoing.

“It’s alleged over the course of about six years that he received … protected information from his sister who was employed by the NDIA in a hospital setting and used that information to obtain benefit fraudulently,” the prosecutor said.

Mr Omole was arrested at Adelaide Airport on Friday and charged with obtaining confidential participant information from a National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) staff member and dealing with the proceeds of crime, the AFP said.

On June 10, Ms Fatungase, understood to be a public servant, was arrested at her Blakeview home and charged with dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage and abuse of public office.

Authorities allege she accessed more than 40 protected participant records without authorisation through her employment at the NDIA.

Meanwhile, Mr Omole allegedly lodged thousands of claims based on the confidential participant information provided by the woman.

A Commonwealth task force comprising 25 agencies, including AFP and NDIS agents raided several homes and a business in the northern suburbs in June.

During the raids on the homes in Blakeview and Mawson Lakes and the Prospect business, investigators seized a series of electronic devices for forensic examination.

Following investigations that began in March, the taskforce allege the woman pocketed more than $53,000 from the local NDIA provider.

Magistrate Patrick Hill denied Mr Omole bail, due to the flight risk.

On Thursday, Ms Fatungase’s charges were adjourned until September.