Single when not /help

[Jessicalin]

Okay this is going to be a lot for most people but this is the situation I’m Currently in. I have been living with the father of my kids for 6 years and we have two children together. Our relationship started in high school where we had a first child at a young age. I decided at the time when I was younger to claim single stats and receive single mother benefits and other living allowance benefits so I was able to survive with my kids in case the father was going to leave me. He had a good job right out of high school and we never claimed living together . I made him say he lived at his parents house so no one would find out that he was living with me, which he was fine with that because he did everything for me and I pretty much had control, I made all his mail go to his parents place. We never had a joint bank account and he never knew how much money I got from assistance. During our relationship I decided to go to school and get an education in the medical care field , so I’m currently in my third year and I collected student loans and child support thru the school as well, while living with my bf. At the birth of my two children I made sure I didn’t put the birth father on the children’s documents in case they found out, so pretty much made it seem like it was a one night stand and thier was no father. I know what I did was wrong but I’m in a pickle here so don’t judge. In the middle of our relationship I had a backstabbing friend that called me in and I was audited for basically two months saying I was living with my partner and claiming benefits. I managed to get away with it since I lied and made it all seem good. Plus I made my partner lie for me and got his parents to sign that he lives at his parents house when he has been living with me the entire time. So it all turned out good and I didn’t get caught and we still lived together. The money I was receiving my partner never had access to. All he did was pay the rent and the rest of the money went to the kids and activities.

So now years later and currently we have broken up due to me cheating on my partner. So stupid me I decided to file an order to obtain child support from the father for the two kids we have together since I need money and can’t survive without it. On my application to serve him I said that he never saw the children and I was the primary caregiver since the children’s birth, I had to say that since I don’t wanna get caught on what our relationship was.
Now it starts to get bad. I’m currently getting audited again since someone called me in again or they somehow saw my child support request. If they find out what the real story was and I get caught lying on my first audit how big of **bleep** will I get. I’m guessing my ex will get in trouble to since I made him claim he was living with his parents also, even thou he didn’t get any money I was receiving and he lived with me the whole time. How can I somehow bring my ex down on this to since we did live together and I don’t wanna be responsible for all the money I collected and the student loan tuition. I know I don’t seem like a good person but I don’t wanna go to jail and I wanna continue my schooling. I’m going to guess I received close to 80k in benefits. Will my ex be responsible for my fraud ?
Can they take my kids away and put me in jail?

[Jess1-RO]

Hi @Jessicalin and welcome to ReachOut!

It sounds like quite a challenging situation you are in, and one where you may require so more qualified supports like advice from a legal team who can answer your questions.

In relation to the questions about the legal and money component, I would recommend contacting legal aid (they are a free service in Australia) who can provide you with support, information and legal advice. 

While we can't give you advice about the financial component, we can certainly offer a listening ear  Have you got support around you during this difficult time? How are your kids going with all of this happening?

We are here for you when you need to chat, and can help to refer you to some support services if you would like 

[Jess1-RO]

Hi @Jessicalin,

I just wanted to check in and see how you are going today- we are thinking of you, this is really tough situation for you