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A NSW policeman who was meant to help catch the criminals who stole $30,000 from an elderly woman instead ended up trying to rob her himself.
Sonia, 74, who asked for only her first name to be used as she feared being targeted again, was robbed by fraudsters pretending to be NBN workers in May 2021.
They convinced her to transfer $30,000 to them before she then reported the incident to her local police station after realising she was the victim of a crime.
The detective was sent to her home to help recover the money before he then tried to use her credit card and banking details and purchase almost $20,000 worth of goods including electronics and an Apple Watch.
He fronted Liverpool Local Court on Wednesday where his barrister tried to explain his client’s behaviour saying he had gone ‘off the rails’ and fallen into a depression due to the nature of his work.
The detective stole a 74-year-old western Sydney woman’s credit card details and tried to buy almost $20,000 worth of goods with it (stock image)
The detective went to her home several times to get the details of what happened, often wearing his full police uniform (stock image)
He was kidnapped, his house was shot at and his cover was blown and made known to criminals on an encrypted messaging app, the court heard.
In June 2021, the detective, who cannot be named, went Sonia’s home several times to get the details of what happened, often wearing his full police uniform.
To gain her sympathy, he said he had a brain aneurysm and had not yet told his girlfriend or work.
According to police documents tendered to the court, she trusted him and he told her she ‘reminded him of his own grandmother’, the Daily Telegraph reported.
When he asked to see her online banking details, credit cards and passwords, Sonia gave them to him, assuming they were needed for his inquiries.
He told Sonia his girlfriend was calling him and she left the room to give him privacy.
However, he did not have a call, and the officer stole Sonia’s banking details while she was in another room, the court heard.
He waited a few days before trying to use them, then went on an online shopping spree.
The detective tried to buy close to $20,000 worth of items from JB Hi Fi, Big W and Myer, including iPhones, GoPro cameras and Apple Watches.
But none of the attempted purchases, which took place on July 2 and 3, went through as they were all rejected as suspicious.
The detective used the credit card to go on a shopping spree for high value goods such as Apple Watches (pictured)
Late on the night of July 2, Sonia got a text message from her bank saying there had been unusual activity with her card.
She immediately suspected the detective who had been supposed to be helping her. ‘I thought: “You rotten little thing” – and maybe a bit worse,’ she said.
Despite the officer’s abuse of her trust, Sonia had no choice but to go to the same police station again.
She asked for a private room so she could explain what had happened.
Two weeks later, she got a phone call from a NSW Police internal investigation officer saying they had got the detective who had stolen her details.
In court this week, the now former detective pleaded guilty to stealing Sonia’s bank details.
The officer also used the stolen credit card details to try to buy iPhone (stock imaged pictured)
He has also pleaded guilty to illegally looking up details on an internal police system and using his ex-girlfriend’s identity to try to get $140,000 of loans in her name.
When he was arrested on August 24, 2021, the detective was charged with 57 offences, which were reduced to the six he pleaded guilty to.
His solicitor Simon Joyner said the former officer is remorseful and was suffering from mental health issues at the time of his crimes.
Barrister Greg James KC told the court that two medical experts had diagnosed his client as suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.
Prosecuting lawyer Kate Kenny said it could not be proven there was a ‘causal connection’ between the detective’s crimes and mental health problems related to his work.
The former officer will face Downing Centre District Court in Sydney on May 12, when he will be sentenced.
More than 18 months after the events, Sonia is still very troubled by what happened and blames herself.
‘I can’t switch off a feeling that I was stupid in the first place … I trusted this guy and then he did that,’ she said.
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