Rebecca Ann Munro pleaded guilty for stealing and fraud in Bundaberg court

A “jobseeker” who engaged in a brazen and “unsophisticated” series of thefts seeking to defraud unwitting victims on Facebook Marketplace has failed to explain her repeat offending.

Rebecca Ann Munro pleaded guilty for stealing and fraud in a Bundaberg court.

A woman defrauded a would-be buyer through Facebook Marketplace and brazenly stole nearly $2000 of goods from Bunnings she intended to sell on the same platform.

Rebecca Ann Munro pleaded guilty in Bundaberg Magistrates Court this week to two charges of stealing and one of fraud.

Police prosecutor Carl Spargo told the court Munro, 39, had advertised a television for sale on Facebook Marketplace in November 2021, and after the victim made contact to express interest in buying it, arrangements were made for her to transfer the funds to Munro’s account before collecting the item at Hinkler Central.

Munro did not attend at the arranged date and time, following which the victim made numerous attempts to contact her to arrange collection of the television or to have the money returned.

When the contact ceased several months later, the victim reported the incident to police including providing screenshots of her Facebook Marketplace conversations with Munro.

In June 2023, the court heard Munro drove her car into the timberyard at Bundaberg Bunnings around 1pm, entered the store and proceeded to load several power tools into a trolley including a Ryobi Chainsaw, Ryobi Leaf Blower an Inverter Generator and three pairs of earmuffs.

The court heard Munro stole goods worth $1,995 from Bunnings Bundaberg.

Munro then wheeled the trolley to her car where it was parked in the timberyard, loaded the goods into the boot of her car and drove away without paying.

Becoming suspicious, Bunnings staff reviewed CCTV footage and observed a recording of Munro stealing the items.

Around one week later, Munro returned to Bunnings, placed a Dyson vacuum cleaner into a shopping trolley and again wheeled it to the timberyard and loaded it into her car.

A female associate purchased some small items, for which they showed the docket to Bunnings staff as they were driving out of the timberyard.

Munro’s lawyer, Matt Maloy, told the court his client was currently unemployed and on Jobseeker benefits, and said she offered no excuse as to why she committed the offences other than the money from the completed and planned fraudulent sales was intended for day-to-day expenses.

In sentencing, Ms Rowan told the court Munro was intending to sell the stolen goods through Facebook Marketplace, and said she was “troubled greatly” by Munro’s lack of explanation for the offending, which she described as “unsophisticated”.

While considering imprisonment as in range due to the persistent nature of the offending, Ms Rowan sentenced Munro to one month imprisonment wholly suspended for three months, with 80 hours of community service to be completed in the next 12 months.

Munro was ordered to pay $150 as restitution to the victim defrauded through the sale of the television and $1,995 restitution to Bunnings.