Police have charged another person for allegedly fraudulently accessing tens of thousands of dollars worth of bushfire grants at Lake Macquarie.
Investigators attached to Strike Force Roche - set up in April to look into cases of apparent fraud related to bushfire funding in northern NSW - charged the 29-year-old on Wednesday with five counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception.
She was released on bail and will face Belmont Local Court on December 7.
Police allege the Macquarie Hills woman made five separate applications to fraudulently receive a total of $36,000 worth of government bushfire-related small business support grants.
Detective Inspector Steve Benson said at least six people had so far been charged over similar alleged crimes at Lake Macquarie since the strike force was formed.
He said police were not looking for people who had made an honest "mistake in fact" when completing grant applications, but rather those who were allegedly intentionally seeking money for which they were not eligible.
"Lake Macquarie is leading the charge on this," Detective Inspector Benson told the Newcastle Herald.
"It's extremely disappointing because the [grant] service is there to really help people in need. With this assistance scheme set up, it was done with the purposes of relieving a bit of that [bushfire] pressure.
"It is disappointing to see where people have preyed upon that and seen it as an opportunity to defraud the government and really take money away from people in need."
Detective Inspector Benson said Strike Force Roche's investigations were ongoing and he expected more arrests in the near future.
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