A former senior SA Health employee convicted of orchestrating an elaborate scam involving fake work-related death threats has been taken into custody after an appeal court ruled her home detention sentence was “manifestly inadequate”. Simon Craig Peisley, 41, and Tabitha Lean, 39, were found guilty of more than 40 deception charges for faking racist death threats to themselves, their children and colleagues. Lean was director of the Aboriginal Health Services division of SA Health and her husband was also employed there. As a result of the threats, SA Health paid for the couple to live in apartments at North Adelaide, paid for extensive private hospital stays and psychological care, and sent them on interstate holidays. The couple also received WorkCover payments and had been negotiating a compensation payout of $580,000. The sentencing judge described the offending as “bizarre” and “outrageous” and said it had “shattered” the reputation of the department.
