Alexandra ‘Xana’ Kamitsis, the former NT Crime Stoppers chairwoman, was jailed this week for rorting a government travel concession scheme and corruptly giving benefits to a political staffer.

Earlier this month a Supreme Court jury found Kamitsis guilty of 20 counts of fraud in relation to a NT Health Department scheme set up to give pensioners travel concessions.

Kamitsis also pleaded guilty to corruptly giving benefits to Paul Mossman – NT Minister Bess Price’s former chief of staff – and two additional counts of fraud.

The fraud committed by Kamitsis totals almost $124,000.

In sentencing, Justice Dean Mildren said Kamitsis was motivated by “personal greed” when committing 95 incidents of deception.

“What you did exploited a weakness in the system to your own advantage,” Justice Mildren said.

Over five years, Kamitsis invoiced the Health Department for inflated flight costs and then purchased cheaper flights for pensioners, pocketing the difference.

During the trial the court heard Kamitsis used her profits to “ingratiate herself” with family and friends, including former NT police commissioner John McRoberts.

Kamitsis admitted corruptly giving benefits to Mr Mossman by paying his overseas travel costs and interstate trips with family in order to obtain government work for her business, Latitude Travel.

Between September 2013 and November 2014 her company provided more than $325,000 worth of travel bookings for Bess Price and her staff.

Kamitsis also fraudulently invoiced the Chief Minister’s Department for a return trip taken by Ms Price and Mr Mossman from Darwin to New York. She claimed $34,000 worth of flight costs on the invoice when the actual cost was less than $21,000.

Meanwhile questions linger over the extent of fraud committed by Kamitsis.

The NT News reported that Charles Darwin University booked more than $350,000 worth of travel through Latitude Travel in 2014, the bulk of which was approved by CDU’s director of international development.

CDU vice-chancellor Simon Maddocks told the NT News that police had contacted the university, but “without access to Latitude Travel records, the university is not in a position to determine the accuracy of the invoices”.

Kamitsis will serve 18 months of her prison sentence and the remainder will be suspended.
Latitude Travel in Darwin is not associated in any way with the company, directors, owners or staff of Latitude Group Travel based in Melbourne.