Remi McKellar: Dodgy tradie in court for $26K fraud

A Logan tradie has been sentenced for more than a dozen online frauds, pocketing as much as $5000 per swindle.

A Logan tradie passed off her owner-operated landscaping business with an expired ABN as open for business to secure more than $26,000 in deposits for landscaping work which she never performed.

Boronia Heights woman Remi Ann Kathleen McKellar, 26, who Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Monday heard now lived at Inala, pleaded guilty to 25 offences.

They included 19 counts of fraud, one count of stealing, two counts each of forgery and uttering a forged document, and one count of driving while disqualified by a court order.

The court heard her offending occurred between March 2019 and March 2020.

Inala fraudster Remi Ann Kathleen McKellar, 26, who formerly lived at Boronia Heights. Picture: Facebook

McKellar’s modus operandi involved offering landscaping services via company MKAR Stone Masonry Landscapes, accepting a deposit but then not following through with the job, offering myriad excuses, such as car troubles or that her car had been stolen, as to why she couldn’t complete the work.

In one of the frauds, McKellar pocketed a whopping $5000.

When arrested and interviewed by police, McKellar said her offending stemmed from the stress caused by the death of her father.

She told the court on Monday her fraudulent activity was raising money for his funeral.

Magistrate Michael O’Driscoll sentenced a tearful McKellar to nine months’ imprisonment with immediate court-ordered parole.

She was also disqualified from driving for two years and ordered to pay $26207.50 restitution.

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