An Australian woman has been charged with "deception, dishonesty, and abuse of public office" for lying on her resume to score a high-paying job. According to CNN, the woman, Veronica Hilda Theriault, plead guilty to all counts and is now sentenced to 25 months in prison with a minimum of a year of jail time. The job she risked it all for was for a chief information officer position in South Australia's Department of the Premier and Cabinet.
The payment for fulfilling the role was $185,000 USD of which Theriault got paid $22,500 USD in the month or so she actually worked there. Veronica was fired due to a deterioration of her mental health early on during her performance.
Judge Michael Boylan said that he considered the defendant's mental health during sentencing but the charges were "serious" and demonstrated planning. Judge Boylan remarked, "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"
Apparently Theriault lied about both her education and previous employment on her resume, posed as an employer for a reference check to give herself a glowing review and she used a photograph of Kate Upton as her LinkedIn profile. In the short time that Veronica was working for the regional Australian government, she also managed to hire her brother who was underqualified as well.