Woman Earning Rs. 1,31,88,835 Annually Jailed For Lying On Resume

Lying on your resume can have dire consequences.

A woman who lied on her resume and faked “glowing” references to land a high-paying job with an Australian regional government has been sentenced to at least a year in prison.

46-year-old Veronica Hilda Theriault was convicted of deception, dishonesty, and abuse of public office in relation to her 2017 application for the chief information officer role, which came with an annual salary of 1,31,88,835 INR.

Theriault worked in the position with South Australia’s Department of the Premier and Cabinet for over a month and earned about 16,04,047 INR before being fired. She pleaded guilty to all charges and received a 25-month sentence with a non-parole period of a year.

According to reports, Veronica Hilda Theriault submitted a fraudulent with false information relating to her education and prior employment. After she was granted an interview, she also posed as a previous employer during a reference check, in which she “gave glowing feedback” about her own performance.

But her lies didn’t end there; in earlier submissions, the court also heard that Theriault used a photo of supermodel Kate Upton as her LinkedIn profile photo. And after starting her job with South Australia’s Department of the Premier and Cabinet in August, she was further found to have hired her brother, despite him lacking the qualifications to perform the role.

Her case became suspicious to the department after her mental health deteriorated shortly after she started working in the position. In his sentencing remarks, Judge Michael Boylan said he had taken Theriault’s mental health into account, but he added that the charges were “serious” and there was an element of planning in her deceitful conduct. The court was also told she had previously used resumes with false information to obtain employment at two companies in 2012 and 2014.