Thousands of false statutory declarations have been uncovered by investigators who have identified a multi-million-dollar fraud of the New South Wales traffic penalty system.

Key points: Documents reveal over 2,000 false declarations

Documents reveal over 2,000 false declarations Drivers shifting responsibility to overseas licenses

Drivers shifting responsibility to overseas licenses Immigration searches reveal people not responsible

Immigration searches reveal people not responsible Mirrors infamous 2006 Einfield case

The ABC has obtained documents that reveal more than 2,000 false statutory declarations were submitted over more than a decade between 2002 and 2013.

Drivers allegedly palmed responsibility for speeding, red light camera and parking fines onto people with overseas licences, with immigration searches revealing the individuals nominated were not in the country at the time of the infringement.

Other drivers nominated in statutory declarations simply did not exist, and in one case one of the drivers nominated was dead.

The fraud mirrors the infamous 2006 Einfeld case, in which former Federal Court judge Marcus Einfeld was jailed after nominating a dead professor as the driver of his car in a statutory declaration to avoid a $77 speeding fine.

The latest fraud was uncovered as part of a two-and-a-half year probe by investigators from the NSW Roads and Maritime Service.

The investigators said 200 people had submitted at least 2,000 statutory declarations.

"I believe this is the tip of the iceberg," one of the investigators said in a December 2013 memo.

"The road safety issue resulting from this investigation is that there are more than 2,400 demerit points which have not been attributed to the person responsible for the traffic offence.

"This is not just a random number of customers avoiding a penalty notice or two. The investigation shows there are complex and organised networks operating to undermine the integrity of the road safety system and subvert the demerit point system."

Unlicensed Sydney man nominated for 105 offences, $18,000 in fines

The investigation detailed eight case studies in which false statutory declarations had been submitted on scores of occasions.

Rabbi Yosef Feldman says accusations of fraud are "wrong". ( ABC News )

In one example, a Sydney man was nominated as the person responsible for 105 traffic offences, despite having never held in a licence in Australia and having been disqualified from driving on three occasions.

That individual accrued more than 240 demerit points and almost $18,000 in fines that were never recovered.

In another example, a rental car operator from western Sydney submitted more than 1,000 statutory declarations.

In more than 700 cases, the same Justice of the Peace (JP) witness allegedly witnessed the forms. But the JP concerned said his signature was forged.

In a third example, a Sydney Rabbi, Yosef Feldman, submitted 44 statutory declarations that nominated drivers with overseas licences as being responsible for speeding, red light camera and parking fines.

After the Rabbi submitted the statutory declarations, $5,255 in fines were written off.

Rabbi Feldman submitted the statutory declarations in his capacity as former director of the Bondi-based Yeshiva Centre.

He was in charge of a large number of cars which, at any one time, were being driven by scores of Rabbinical students from overseas.

"We just knew in many instances who was in charge of the car or took responsibility, but not necessarily who was the driver at the time," Rabbi Feldman said.

He said the people he had nominated in statutory declarations could all be contacted if required.

"Any of those people I know, and we could track them down, and they would certainly admit to being in charge of the vehicle," he said.

"Whoever is accusing me of fraud, whoever is suggesting that there's any fraud over here, really is simply wrong and it's very upsetting to me."

International drivers not chased up by department

The ABC has obtained an email sent between workers from the NSW State Debt Recovery Office that reveals that when international licence holders were nominated as drivers, fines were not followed up.

"This is an international licence — we do not chase up licence/DOB details," an email from an SDRO worker responding to a query about a statutory declaration nominating an overseas driver read.

"I have no way of checking other than ringing the declarant — but it is international so we don't worry."

The investigators who uncovered the fraud pressed for a wide-scale audit and a full criminal investigation by police. But, the request was ignored by those in charge at the Roads and Maritime Service.

Former NSW Director of Public Prosecutions Nicholas Cowdery said that if the primary evidence backed up the allegations, successful prosecutions would be likely.

"This is a matter that cries out for proper police investigation," Mr Cowdery said.

"There are people here who seem to be committing offences, who are not being properly penalised, not losing their points and their licences.

"That poses a potential risk to all road users."

A Roads and Martime Service spokesperson said the organisation did not condone companies or individuals deliberately flouting the law.

"As has always been the case, Roads and Maritime will continue to report fraud to NSW Police, as required," the spokesperson said.

Loading...