A man has been charged following an investigation into alleged online fraud.
In October 2023, detectives attached to the South Coast Police District began investigating reports a man was allegedly defrauding people online via social media.
In February 2024, police conducted a search warrant on an address linked to a 36-year-old man, where they seized evidence.
About 10.10am on Thursday 16 May 2024, police attended a hotel on Vulcan Street, Moruya where they arrested the 36-year-old man.
He was taken to Batemans Bay Police Station where he was charged with 15 offences, including;
- Ten counts of dishonestly obtain financial advantage etc by deception
- Two counts of dishonestly obtains property by deception
- One count of deal with property proceeds of crime > $100,000
- Possess or use a prohibited weapon without permit
- Possess prohibited drug
Police will allege the man used multiple social media aliases and bank accounts to defraud 12 people across three states, of more than $230,000.
It's alleged the man sold fake gold bullions and received payment for goods that were not provided.
He was granted conditional bail to appear before Batemans Bay Local Court on Monday 20 May 2024.
Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report information via NSW Police social media pages.
