Teacher used fake name to help husband scam $1m

A businessman gave his wife a "fake name" to allegedly dupe a NSW government department out of $1 million using family members on the inside.

Shadi Abou Chacra, 29, told the Independent Commission Against Corruption yesterday the pseudonym was used to conceal the fact his wife's sister worked in the same department that would go on to award his company lucrative contracts for court renovations across the state, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

"I didn't want anything to affect me in getting the work," he said.

The ICAC heard Fayrouz Abou Chacra nee Hammoud, a public high school PE teacher in Sydney's south, used the name "Fay Rouze" to represent her husband's company in bidding for the work.

Previously, Mrs Abou Chacra said this may have been to anglicise her surname because "we don't want racial discrimination against our names".

However, yesterday Mr Abou Chacra admitted he used the "deceiving name" to bury ties to his sister-in-law Fatima Hammoud, who worked in the justice department.

"You were using the name Rouze to avoid using the name Hammoud," counsel assisting the ICAC, Grant Brady, said.

"I was," Mr Abou Chacra replied.

Mr Abou Chacra was awarded 17 projects by Anthony Andjic, a senior justice department bureaucrat who was in a relationship with Fatima Hammoud. The pair went on to marry.

The ICAC heard many of the contracts including refurbishment work at a building in Spring Street, Sydney CBD and courthouses in Camden, Picton, Cessnock, Tamworth and Gunnedah, were grossly inflated and some companies were paid for doing no work.

The Department of Education confirmed Mrs Abou Chacra is still in her teaching role.

The inquiry continues.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald