Daniel Alongi accused of scamming more than half a million dollars by claiming non-existent purchases and analysis over seven years

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

A senior scientist at Australia’s key research body on the Great Barrier Reef is alleged to have fabricated research expenses worth more than half a million dollars and has been arrested on fraud charges, the Australian federal police say.

Daniel Alongi, 59, is accused of duping the taxpayer-funded Australian Institute of Marine Science (Aims) into paying him $556,508 for non-existent purchases of “radioisotopes” and laboratory analysis of reef sediment over seven years.

Great Barrier Reef with David Attenborough: man who shows us miracles Read more

Alongi allegedly put the scam in place in 2008 by convincing his supervisor at Aims he could obtain the materials and analysis cheaper as a US citizen by making orders on his own credit card and using his home address in Townsville.

The supervisor, who considered these discounts “reason enough” to waive the institute’s regular purchasing procedures amid “generally slim research funds”, allegedly blew the whistle after noticing last year that her signature approving some of his claims appeared to be forged.

Details of Alongi’s alleged fraud were alleged in documents filed by the AFP in Queensland’s supreme court in a successful bid in October to freeze more than $1m worth of superannuation and leave entitlements he had accrued.

These could potentially be used to recover Aims’s losses under proceeds of crime laws.

The AFP charged Alongi with fraud and dealing with proceeds of crime after raiding his home and office and seizing documents, a laptop and “digital evidence” on 6 September.

The AFP alleged that one of the credit cards Alongi used to claim more than $172,000 in expenses had expired the previous year.



It also alleged that an extract of Alongi’s work computer showed he had created a fake invoice, receipt and credit card account reflecting a non-existent transaction with US chemical giant DuPont.

The AFP told the court in its submission that 45 of the 89 authorisations for expenses attributed to Alongi’s supervisor Britta Shaffelke “appear to be forgeries”.

“A number of purchase receipts and other documents provided by Alongi appear unprofessional and contain errors, including disconnected phone numbers, date errors and incorrect ordering numbers,” it said.

Both DuPont and Pace, another US company that Alongi claimed to have placed orders with, denied any knowledge of “the transactions described in the purchase receipts attributed to them”, the AFP alleged.

Great Barrier Reef government panel to include climate change experts Read more

The submission by the AFP contains no allegations about Alongi’s motive but notes he has told Aims that he is “undertaking mental health assessments”.

In an affidavit filed with the supreme court Schaffelke claimed she had originally approved of Alongi bypassing “the typical AIMS purchasing procedures” because of his claim to have had “US client numbers and licences that allow him to get goods and services from these US companies at a significant discount”.

“With generally slim research funds this was reason enough for me to approve the reimbursements,” she said.

Over the years she had pressed Alongi to “produce more and better records to document these reimbursements” but only required him to show receipts and delivery dockets to prove goods were received from 2014 onwards.

“Generally as a proof of purchase, I have only seen copies of internet order forms and copies of his personal credit card account which seemed to show the deduction of the amounts requested for reimbursement.”

She did not notice that goods “seem to have been sent to his home address not to the AIMS address” until June 2015.

Schaffelke discovered the alleged forgeries of her signature after being surprised by an email that month showing the number of delivery dockets Alongi had still outstanding that month, she said.

The money he is alleged to have obtained from Aims by deception came from its “research project or research managements funds”, Schaffelke said.

Alongi reportedly resigned last month after almost 27 years working at Aims, a statutory authority fully funded by the federal government, and whose employees are considered commonwealth public officials.

His most recent role was a level eight senior research scientist looking at the biogeochemical functioning of tropical coastal and marine ecosystems, particularly mangroves and coral reefs.

Alongi is due to appear in Townsville magistrates court on 18 January.