bushpig said:
A CAIRNS trio alleged to have made potentially millions of dollars from fraudulent online sales while living off the grid will face serious penalties if convicted.
Kanimbla couple David Strachan and Susanne Lillis and Mr Strachans son, Daniel McKenzie, have been charged with fraud over what police describe as an elaborate scam on popular trading website Gumtree, spanning more than a decade.
All three appeared yesterday in the Cairns Magistrates Court, where it was alleged Mr Strachan was the mastermind behind the operation.
Police claim the 39-year-old and the co-accused allegedly concealed their identity for 11 years while living off proceeds from fraudulent internet sales.
Mr Strachan was remanded in custody, while Ms Lillis had her bail application rescheduled to today because detectives were yesterday still confirming her identity.
Mr McKenzie was granted bail under strict surveillance conditions, with Magistrate Kevin Priestley cautioning the 21-year-old had allegedly equipped himself with the skills to hide his electronic traces.
The allegation at the moment is that theyve managed their affairs in a way that they were basically untraceable, he said.
The court heard the family was making about $30,000 per week from the fraudulent online activity.
Officers from the Cairns Criminal Investigation Branch said investigations were continuing as detectives trawled through large amounts of materials seized from the familys Messina Close home on Tuesday.
Detective Sergeant Bradley McLeish said it would be alleged the trio, who are wanted in several Australian states, took payments from thousands of items they advertised on Gumtree, but fail to deliver the goods.
He said the items allegedly included a tractor, a power generator and electronics.
Its allegedly been going on for 11 years, so were talking hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars.
They were allegedly travelling around the country, avoiding detection completely off the grid.
The court heard Ms Lillis would apply for bail today. Defence lawyer Paul Richardson said the 40-year-old needed to be released so she could care for her four children.
Wolfau said:mbasko said:Items listed on Gumtree aren't covered by PayPal.
PayPal said:Eligibility
Yes your right and I did learn something new today.
Going by the policy below but the strange part is you can link your
paypal account to your gumtree listing and I think Gumtree is owned by ebay.
https://www.paypal.com/au/webapps/m...1_PayPal_Seller_and_Buyer_Protection_Policies
gedanate said:Let her mind them from in JAIL! And I hope the whole family gets a long sentence, doing it HARD.
Bravo to the police!
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