Fraudster, 23, who went viral for her VERY unflattering 'trailer trash' mugshot admits to running a $60,000 bushfire assistance scam

A woman who went viral for an unflattering mugshot ran a bushfire scam worth tens of thousands of dollars. 

Tiffany-Anne Brislane-Brown slammed police for their choice of photo when issuing a warrant for her arrest in Newcastle, 160km north of Sydney, in January.

The 23-year-old has admitted to defrauding a government agency out of $60,000, which was designated for victims impacted by the black summer bushfires.

The mother-of-two is awaiting sentencing over the scam at Silverwater Women's Prison and will return to court later this month. 

A woman who went viral for an unflattering 'trailer trash' mugshot ran a bushfire scam worth tens of thousands of dollars

She pleaded guilty to six counts of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception at Belmont Local Court on Wednesday, reported the Daily Telegraph.   

The court heard her elaborate scam involved registering for financial aid through Service New South Wales using a series of emails and phone numbers. 

Brislane-Brown manipulated the government to hand over money by claiming she was a small business owner who had been impacted by the bushfires. 

Between May and April she lodged 24 applications through the bushfire-COVID-19 $10,000 grant scheme. 

The program was designed to help small businesses across the state experiencing declining revenue connected to the fires and coronavirus restrictions.

Tiffany-Anne Brislane-Brown, 23, called out police for their choice of photo when issuing a warrant for her arrest in Newcastle, 160km north of Sydney in January

But an investigation into fraud offences by New South Wales police exposed the 23-year-old's scam earlier this year.

She was arrested on April 30 and charged over unrelated matters before being questioned over the fraud offences.    

The court heard a later investigation of her phone records proved she was responsible.

Receipts were also found showing payment to bank accounts of another ten people. 

She has now has pleaded guilty to six counts of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception by scamming money designated for small businesses impacted by the NSW budshfires 

The 23-year-old became famous online after calling out police for posting an unflattering mugshot of her on Facebook.   

Officers shared the 'most recent image' they had of Tiffany-Anne Brislane, 23, in January as part of a call out by Newcastle City Police for alleged stealing offences.  

The image from 2015 shows Brislane with her hair up in a bun, a confused look on her face and a tattoo on her collarbone which reads: 'We don't remember days, we remember moments.'

Police posted the image in the hope it garner information on her whereabouts.  

The mother-of-two came across the Facebook post and fired back in the comment section.

The mother-of-two came across the police's Facebook post and fired back at some of the comments 

'Loving the photo taken how many years ago. Let's calm down on the comments guys it's not everyday I look like trailer trash. Let's just say it wasn't a good angle,' she commented.

Newcastle Police responded: 'Probably time you walk into a police station before we find you.'

'Thanks for the advice like I said youse will be seeing me bright and early Monday morning with my solicitor. Thanks guys,' she fired back.

She then took to her personal Facebook page where she uploaded an 'actual pic of me'.

'Here's an actual pic of me. Let's take the time to acknowledge this is not my current Newcastle police page photo they've decided to upload from 2015,' she wrote. 

'Thanks for the advice like I said youse will be seeing me bright and early Monday morning with my solicitor. Thanks guys,' she once again responded

Some social media users lashed out at others for their comments. 

'For Christ's sake I pray none of you ever have a family member or friend in this situation because most of you are just plain downright nasty,' one person wrote.

'This is someones daughter, sister, loved one. Have a heart please.'