Woman who lied on her resume goes to jail after earning $22,000 from working one month

A woman who lied on her resume and falsified references has been sentenced to at least one year in prison in Australia after landing a $185,000 a year government job.

Veronica Hilda Theriault, 46, was sentenced Tuesday of deceit, and misuse of public office, linked to her 2017 application for the chief information officer role, which paid $185,000 US yearly.

Theriault earned $22,500 in her position with South Australia's Department of the Premier and Cabinet before being fired.

She pled guilty to all charges and received a 2-year sentence.

According to court reports, she presented a deceitful resume to the department with inaccurate information describing her education and prior work. She also pretended to be a previous employer during a reference check.

Once she secured the position, she went on to hire her brother for a position he did not qualify for.

Her case became suspicious to the department after her mental health deteriorated shortly after she started working in the position.

Judge Michael Boylan noted that he took her mental health under consideration but stated, "You fraudulently obtained employment for which you were paid a large salary and in the course of which you may have had access to sensitive material."