Multiple Rolex watches, $700 bottles of Lady Gaga-branded Dom Perignon champagne and Cartier jewellery – these are just some of the luxuries that police allege a criminal syndicate bought using stolen identities and car loans used for luxury vehicles that didn’t exist. NSW Police allege a 40-year-old man colluded with a 31-year-old female employee of a motor vehicle financing company to use the stolen identities of 33 people to apply for loans to buy fictional luxury cars. This case of champagne, seized by police, is worth $15,000.
Credit: NSW Police Police say the woman facilitated the financing of more than 50 luxury cars worth a combined $10 million between November 2022 and August 2023. Police say the man tried to launder $600,000 through various bank accounts. In May this year, the woman was arrested at a home in Middleton Grange, in Sydney’s west.
She was charged with 102 counts of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception and one count of possessing a prohibited drug. As detectives continued to investigate, they searched a home in Carlingford and a warehouse in Alexandria on Wednesday. During the search detectives allegedly found a Tesla sedan, a Mercedes-Benz van, multiple Rolex watches, luxury jewellery including Cartier rings and a significant collection of high-end wines and liquor worth more than $200,000.
Police found two bottles of Lady Gaga branded champagne. Credit: NSW Police The collection included the rare Lady Gaga-branded Dom Perignon; cases of Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse De Lalande, Bordeaux, worth more than $300 a bottle; and bottles of Moet & Chandon champagne. One special edition case of Armand De Brignac Ace of Spades champagne was taken into evidence.
The case of six wines is worth at least $15,000. Multiple cases of Hennessy cognac worth $350 a bottle and bottles of Sullivans Cove Tasmanian whisky, including one worth $700, were also found. The man was arrested at the Carlingford home and charged with three counts of recklessly dealing with the proceeds of crime and participating in a criminal group.
This man will face Burwood Local Court. Credit: NSW Police He will face Burwood Local Court on Thursday. Detective Superintendent Gordon Arbinja, Commander of State Crime Command’s Financial Crime Squad, said more arrests were likely.
“No one should receive a letter in the mail saying they owe tens of thousands of dollars for a car they have never seen,” he said. “I want to thank the businesses involved in this investigation for their outstanding co-operation. Thanks to them we have been able to prevent further innocent people from having their personal information caught up in this fraud.
” Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter ..
