Convicted fraudster Anthony Francis McEwan pleads guilty to insurance fraud

The Chevrolet Corvette Coupe was reported stolen in 2007 and was paid out by the insurance company – but 12 years later something caught the eye of police.

A Cairns man who was convicted of defrauding his employer of almost $1.7 million in 2017 has been sentenced for insurance fraud.

Anthony Francis McEwan, 56, pleaded guilty to one count of fraud in the Cairns District Court on Friday.

He appeared via video link from the Lotus Glen Correctional Centre, where he is serving out a nine year sentence for his earlier crimes.

The court heard McEwan reported his Chevrolet Corvette Coupe stolen on December 10, 2007, and made a false insurance claim, which was paid out on December 24, 2007, netting him $59,511.

The court heard the “unique car” was seen again in 2019, 12 years after it had been reported stolen, prompting a police investigation which led to the fraud charge.

Convicted fraudster Anthony Francis McEwan who has been sentenced for insurance fraud.

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Defence counsel Brydie Bilic told the court McEwan had already served four years of his “lengthy term of imprisonment” and that for the last 30 months he had been working on “the farm” at Lotus Glen, a section for prisoners who were behaving well.

Judge Paul Smith sentenced McEwan to two and a half years imprisonment, to be served concurrently with his current sentence.

He ordered his parole eligibility date remain fixed at November 8, 2021.

McEwan was jailed for nine years on May 27, 2017, after what Judge Brian Harrison then described as a “fraud of massive proportions” against his employer between 2003 and 2013.

As the Cairns branch manager of Simone George and Sons, McEwan set up two fake companies and used them to skim a total of $1.677m, which he used to fund an extravagant lifestyle.

Originally published as Convicted fraudster Anthony Francis McEwan pleads guilty to insurance fraud