Qld man charged over ‘cash for demerit points’ scheme

A 26-year-old man has been charged with multiple offences over an alleged “cash for demerit points” scheme, which he ran for over three years out of his Warwick address.

The man advertised on social media that he would accept other people’s fines and demerit points for payment.

After nominating himself as the offending driver, he would steal a third party’s identity and sign the ticket off to them.

A 28-year-old Queensland man is accused of helping motorists avoid more than 200 camera-detected traffic infringement notices by signing them over to unsuspecting third parties.

Police reported the “illegal business enterprise” involved more than 200 camera-detected offence notices worth approximately $141,000 in fines and 695 demerit points”.

Acting Chief Superintendent Janelle Andrews said police believe the scheme had been running for at least three years.

“Inquiries were commenced after one of the alleged victims of crime contacted police regarding $20,000 worth of fines he had received,” she said.

“The subsequent investigation uncovered what is alleged to be an illegal business enterprise.”

The man was arrested by road policing officers on August 8 and was charged with one count of carrying on the business of fraud, attempting to pervert the course of justice, and three counts of obtaining identification information.

Andrews said: “People may see this sort of thing as a victimless crime, but the demerit point penalty system is in place to ensure that drivers who commit offences on the road are incentivised to improve their driving behaviour.”

“This man has allegedly attempted to undermine the integrity of the road safety system in Queensland,” she said, adding that many of the people who contacted the alleged offender were young, inexperienced drivers.

The man has been charged with carrying on the business of fraud, attempting to pervert the course of justice and three counts of obtaining identification information.

He was granted bail to reappear in Warwick Magistrates Court, south-west of Brisbane, on October 23.

With AAP