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Australian political activist Drew Pavlou and YouTuber Pete Zogoulas have received legal cease-and-desist letters for their attempts to investigate “potential NDIS fraud.”
Inspired by recent welfare fraud in Minnesota, the pair hit the pavement in Western Sydney—a major multicultural hub—seeking to expose health service providers they suspected of similar practices.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a multi-billion-dollar taxpayer-backed funding scheme that supports services and product purchases for disabled Australians.
The NDIS budget, however, has ballooned dramatically, and despite starting in 2013, now eclipses the much older Medicare scheme and is close to the defence budget.
The Cease and Desist Letter
In a post published on X (formerly Twitter), Pavlou said he spent the week with Zogoulas in suburbs like Lakemba.
The post included photographs of an NDIS service provider—Hope and Care Pty Ltd. Another photograph showed a high-end sports car parked outside the centre, which Zogoulas describing it as a “$250,000 [Nissan] GTR.”
Zogoulas alleged that he and Pavlou were “chased down the street” after confronting the service provider about the sports car.
On Jan. 8, Pavlou shared screenshots showing the cease and desist letter from Blackstone Legal, who represents Hope and Care Pty Ltd, accusing Pavlou and Zogoulas of attending the company’s premises without authorisation and filming staff without consent.
The letter also stated the sports car was not owned by the business or the owner, and refuted claims that the duo were “chased.”
The firm alleges the X posts caused reputational and operational harm to the clients, which constitute a defamation claim.
The Epoch Times contacted Blackstone regarding the letters but the firm declined to comment further.
Fraud Crackdown on Australia’s NDIS
Fraud in the NDIS is an ongoing problem, and recent crackdowns have brought the issue into the spotlight.
In a statement published on their website, NDIS reported that a New South Wales woman was sentenced for money laundering in Nov, 2025, where her involvement was linked to millions of dollars in false claims.
More recently, in December 2025, a Brookdale man was arrested and charged with 160 offences following a police chase. It is alleged the man used scam invoices to defraud the NDIS of almost $200,000.
The National Disability Insurance Agency says the government has invested over $550 million (approximately US$367 million) into fraud crackdown as of 2022. This investment was actualised in the forms of the “Down on Fraud,“ ”Payment Integrity” program, and the Fraud Fusion Taskforce.
The statement says over 1,900 providers have submitted incorrect or non-compliant claims.
When contacted, NDIS declined to comment on recent actions of Pavlou and Zogoulas.
Recent Actions Inspired by Minnesota Fraud Bust
Pavlou and Zogoulas’ recent actions were inspired by Nick Shirley, American YouTuber and content creator.
On Dec. 26, 2025, Shirley released a 42 minute video to his YouTube and X, where he documented and raised concerns about fraud involving Minnesota day care centres backed by U.S. taxpayer funds.
The video has since gone viral, amassing almost 140 million views on X and a further 3.4 million views on YouTube.
In response to the alleged fraud, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) halted funding for child care in Minnesota as of Dec. 29, 2025.
“We have frozen all child care payments to the state of Minnesota,” HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill wrote on X.
“We have turned off the money spigot and we are finding the fraud.”
