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An Australian tribunal has permanently barred a disability care worker from the sector after she pleaded guilty to laundering more than $105,000 in suspected cocaine proceeds through Bitcoin exchanges in 2020.
Grace Jiang Hong Ley, 52, was caught in an undercover police operation after she converted drug money to Bitcoin in three separate meetings, despite being explicitly told the cash came from cocaine sales.
The New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) affirmed that the money laundering scheme Ley participated in undermined her suitability for disability support work.
According to the tribunal, her actions in facilitating the exchange of suspected drug money indicated a disregard for financial and ethical responsibilities that are crucial for individuals entrusted with vulnerable clients’ funds.
“NDIS participants are particularly vulnerable to exploitation and manipulation and may not have the cognitive capacity to identify such conduct and take steps to protect themselves,” the tribunal wrote in its decision.
Ley had been twice denied clearance to work under the NDIS, first in May 2025 and again in July of the same year, after the NSW Children’s Guardian classified her as a risk to residents.
The tribunal’s ruling now cements that decision, citing her involvement in a money laundering scheme as incompatible with the trust required for NDIS-related roles.
Court documents reveal that the money laundering scheme was uncovered during a police sting operation in 2020. Communicating under the encrypted messaging handle Clever Bee, Ley met with an undercover officer on three occasions between April and May 2020 to facilitate Bitcoin-for-cash transactions totaling $105,000.
During these exchanges, the officer explicitly mentioned that the funds originated from cocaine sales. Despite this, Ley went ahead with the transactions. She later claimed she misheard the term “cocaine” as “coin,” assuming it referred to cryptocurrency trading jargon.
However, the tribunal dismissed this defense as “unconvincing and recently invented,” concluding that Ley had shown “little insight” into her criminal conduct. “Error is human being, I made mistakes, and I learn a big lesson from experience,” Ley wrote in a statement submitted to the tribunal. Yet, the panel found her expressions of remorse insufficient and noted that her guilty plea appeared to have been motivated by a favorable prosecution offer rather than genuine repentance.
The NCAT decision emphasized that Ley’s involvement in a money laundering scheme reflected a “deficiency in judgment and honesty,” which posed a serious risk to NDIS participants.
The tribunal underscored the importance of financial integrity for disability support workers, given their access to participants’ funds and personal information.
“Her criminal conduct reflected poorly on her financial integrity—an important characteristic for NDIS workers with access to participants’ funds,” the tribunal noted.
It further stated that Ley’s actions indirectly harmed people affected by the illicit drug trade, many of whom live with disabilities and could be NDIS beneficiaries.
Ley argued that she had worked within the NDIS sector between 2022 and 2024 without any reported incidents, asserting, “I am a person who is always willing to help, and will feel very guilty if I did anything like that.” Nevertheless, the tribunal concluded that her continued denial of responsibility for her money laundering scheme showed a lack of awareness about the gravity of her actions.
The case highlights ongoing regulatory challenges in monitoring cryptocurrency transactions that can facilitate money laundering schemes.
Ley’s conviction for acting as an unregistered digital currency provider underscores Australia’s increasing scrutiny of crypto-related financial crimes, especially where such conduct intersects with public trust sectors like disability care.
Ley’s background as an administration manager at Billy Blue Colleges (now Torrens University) and her later transition into disability services reveal a complex intersection of professional competence and ethical lapses.
The tribunal’s judgment makes clear that her money laundering scheme, regardless of intent, disqualifies her from roles involving financial or personal trust.
As the digital economy expands, the money laundering scheme case of Grace Jiang Hong Ley serves as a cautionary tale about the risks of unregulated crypto exchanges and the necessity of maintaining financial transparency in all sectors—particularly those involving vulnerable populations.
