Curtis McNulty: Balmain East former Commonwealth Bank business retail consultant being sentenced for fraud

An ex-bank worker who used insider knowledge to swindle customers and PayPal claimed in court he was threatened by online gaming buddies – but ultimately conceded he just wanted to impress and make friends.

The Downing Centre. Picture: Nikki Short

A former Commonwealth Bank business retail consultant who used inside knowledge to defraud customers out of tens of thousands of dollars was motivated by wanting to impress others and make friends online, a court has heard.

Balmain East man Curtis McNulty first claimed he was threatened by people he met playing video games online.

McNulty fronted Downing District Court for sentencing on Thursday. The 26-year-old pleaded guilty to dishonestly obtaining personal financial information, accessing data from a carriage service, dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception and possessing identification to commit fraud.

McNulty defrauded PayPal of tens of thousands and used the inside knowledge to swindle customers through fraudulent cards and transactions in 2022, it was previously heard.

Curtis McNulty outside court.

McNulty used his work login credentials to access a customer’s details and open an account and credit card in her name, police state in court documents.

Months later, McNulty created another Commonwealth Bank profile in a different man’s name and made several withdrawals worth thousands of dollars from multiple Sydney ATMs.

Investigations uncovered multiple CCTV images of McNulty at various ATMs and it was further discovered he had used the same email address – ‘[e-mail]’ – to create fake accounts and credit cards.

McNulty attempted to cover his tracks by flagging surveillance of his fraudulent accounts on the bank’s internal systems.

He used a derelict Balmain home, a short distance from his mother’s property, as the mailing address for the fake cards.

The Downing Centre. Picture: Nikki Short.

McNulty claimed in court on Thursday he was threatened by a former friend group he met while playing video games.

He said he never met the people in person, although they were his “only friends” at the time.

McNulty said threats “escalated” through 2022 and he believed the group might go to his home to harm family members and pet dogs.

He claimed he “felt like” if he went to police he “would have been hurt:

“ … everything felt real to me,” Mr McNulty told the court.

However, under cross-examination McNulty conceded threats “weren’t the sole reason” for his offending and he was motivated by impressing people and making friends.

McNulty said he felt “absolutely disgusted” by his actions.

“I always knew what I was doing was wrong, I just couldn’t stop … I just look at it now I just think that I am a f--king idiot,” he said.

The case was heard at Downing Centre District Court. Picture: Nikki Short.

McNulty told the court he was “manipulated” by a girlfriend and she would “shame” him if he did not “provide things for her”.

He further claimed in court they had a toxic relationship and alleged he was sexually assaulted.

It was also heard McNulty had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and he had problems with impulse control.

During sentencing, the prosecution described the offending as “particularly serious” and pointed out the victims.

Mr McNulty was described as a high-functioning adult, who was employed, completed university and knew his actions were wrong.

The defence argued against a prison term and said there was “real innocence and naivety about Mr McNulty’s offending“.

Judge John Pickering SC reserved his judgment for a later date.