Rural drug kingpin Georgina Eve Tsakos sentenced at Goulburn Local Courts

An unemployed woman ran a major drug, stolen property and fraud racket - one time even pretending to be her partner’s mother to increase her funeral insurance - to fund her drug addiction.

An unemployed woman ran a major drug, stolen property and fraud racket in the Southern Tablelands - one time even pretending to be her partner’s mother to increase her funeral insurance - just to fund her drug addiction.

Georgina Eve Tsakos, 34, appeared at Goulburn Local Court for sentencing on Monday, after her and her partner, Simon Walter Paull, were arrested at their Goulburn home on Kinghorne St in November last year.

The arrests were part of a six-month Hume Police District probe into street-level supply of meth and other prohibited drugs in the area, which involved intercepted calls and texts with Tsakos and other offenders.

She had earlier pleaded guilty to 13 charges, including knowingly directing activities of a criminal group, dealing with proceeds of the crime, concealing a serious indictable offence of another person, supplying meth and buprenorphine, dishonestly gaining financial advantage and knowingly dishonestly gaining property by deception.

Simon Walter Paull, 43, and Georgina Eve Tsakos, 34, were arrested at their home in November 2020. Picture: Facebook

The duo’s arrest followed a raid on a storage shed at 89 Robinson St, which the court heard had more than $14,000 valued in suspected stolen goods.

According to a fact sheet tendered to the court, the shed was leased in Tsakos’s sister’s partner’s name, to purposefully not be linked with the shed’s contents, which included power tools, toolboxes, a welder, an air compressor and generators.

Police claim between 2018 and 2020, Ms Tsakos dealt with more than $110,000, which were the proceeds of crime.

Documents state this is inclusive of more than $65,000 of unexplained bank deposits, that were inconsistent with her unemployment payments and reported income since 2017.

She also knowingly directed the activities of a criminal group for a month in the middle of last year, documents show.

Facts state Tsakos supplied drugs on several occasions, totalling to 31.5 grams of meth.

Tsakos’s lawyer, Rodney Boyd, said her motivation to commit the offences was fuelled by her drug addiction.

“The financial gain was to fund her addiction, rather than greed being a mitigating factor,” Mr Boyd said.

However police prosecutor Simon Enderwick said “not just finances were lost, but the erosion of trust,” and noted the need for general deterrence.

Georgina Eve Tsakos appeared at Goulburn Local Court on Monday for her drug, stolen property and fraud charges. Picture: Facebook

One of her charges was concealing a serious indictable offence by two people who have since been convicted, involved her and Paull denying who stabbed a person in the leg over a drug debt.

Another offence which Magistrate Beattie classified as “very serious” was dishonestly gaining financial advantage by pretending to be Tsakos’s partner’s mother, who was in hospital at the time and later died, to raise her funeral insurance to $8000 from InsuranceLine, and have the amount transferred to her account.

She had also used the identity of a person unknown to her to set up electricity and gas accounts with Energy Australia, gaining access to electricity and gas between August and November without paying for it.

Energy Australia is seeking more than $7000 in compensation.

In sentencing, Magistrate Beattie spoke of the damage done to the community.

“What I have before me are very serious matters that have a large impact on the community,” Magistrate Beattie said.

“You’re really the kingpin of it all.

“You exploited others and their drug addictions – you knew how it was screwing up your life and you did it to them too.

“And then there’s the impact on their families, the tentacles are huge.”

Georgina Eve Tsakos leaving Goulburn Local Court after being sentenced. Picture: Niki Iliagoueva

Mr Boyd said Tsakos had been undergoing residential drug rehabilitation for almost 12 months and had made significant progress.

“Her engagement in counselling has been very high and she has wholeheartedly seized the opportunity to change her life,” Mr Boyd said.

“The change in her brought tears to the eyes of the women’s program manager.

“She has acknowledged the seriousness of her actions and expressed guilt and shame.”

The court also heard Tsakos had been diagnosed with bipolar and had been taking medication.

Mr Boyd said her rehabilitation program finishes in six months and her sentence would be better served as an intensive corrections order.

“What would be the purpose of sending her back into custody given the rehabilitation she’s made in the last 12 months?” he said.

After much deliberation, Tsakos was sentenced to a three-year intensive corrections order with supervision, requiring her to abstain from drugs and alcohol, complete her rehabilitation, 400 hours of community service and pay back Energy Australia $7425.80.

“Clearly you’re someone suffering from drug addiction,” Magistrate Beattie said.

After the sentence, Mr Boyd told The Bowral News that “addiction does not discriminate” and “the community is better off when offenders rehabilitate.”

Mr Paull is due to appear before District Court at Sydney Downing Centre on December 16 after he appealed his custodial sentence handed down on November 18 at Goulburn District Court.

He pleaded guilty to dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception, taking part in supply of prohibited drugs, supplying prohibited drug, concealing a serious indictable offence, taking part in a criminal group and goods suspected stolen.