Zoe Zador sentenced for arson and attempted fraud in Maroochydore District Court

Two acquaintances had hatched a plan to get rid of a dodgy car and pretended they didn’t know anything about it until police found fingerprints at the scene, a court heard.

A Coolum Beach woman who asked her acquaintance to get rid of her “lemon” car for an insurance claim has been sentenced after the car was set alight.

Zoe Zador, 41, pleaded guilty in Maroochydore District Court on Tuesday, October 5, to one count each of arson and attempted fraud.

The prosecution case against Zador stated she had asked her acquaintance to help her get rid of her faulty 2013 Suzuki car for insurance purposes.

The court heard Zador had promised the man money once she got the insurance claim paid out.

The man, who was yet to be charged following a warrant issued for his arrest, allegedly drove Zador’s car to a secluded area in Coolum Beach near a sewage plant.

Zoe Zador leaves Maroochydore District Court after being sentenced for arson and attempted fraud. Picture: Aisling Brennan

The court heard he later returned and set the car on fire on July 1, 2020.

Zador then filed an insurance claim with RACQ after telling police there was nothing wrong with the car.

The court heard both Zador and the man denied any involvement when questioned by police.

Crown prosecutors said the pair had also fabricated a phone conversation with each other where they denied everything, thinking police might seize phone records.

Police later questioned the man after a soft drink bottle with petrol was found near the burnt out car with his fingerprints.

The court heard he then told police everything, including Zador’s involvement.

Zador’s defence barrister Justin Sibley said his client had been suffering financial pressure after she was stood down from her FIFO job in the midst of the pandemic.

“She began to ruminate about her anxiety of finances, she’s bought a car which appeared to her to be a lemon and would cost her more money to keep running,” Mr Sibley said.

He said that’s when the idea of the insurance scam came to Zador and she enlisted the help of her acquaintance.

“She was more concerned about having the debt more than committing the fraud,” Mr Sibley said.

Chief Judge Brian Devereaux said while Zador had not instructed her acquaintance to set her car on fire, she had lied to police about the event, including that there was nothing wrong with the car.

Zador was given a two-year wholly suspended sentence for the arson charge and was given a one year probation order for the attempted fraud charge.

A conviction was recorded for both matters.