Player in luxury car fraud syndicate has sentence reduced on appeal

A player in the same luxury car fraud syndicate as dead Comanchero bikie Shane Ross has had his sentence reduced after a District Court appeal.

• Exposed: Inner workings of luxury car fraud syndicate revealed
• Commanchero bikie Shane Ross found dead in bushland

A player in a sophisticated luxury car fraud syndicate, which included the late Comanchero bikie Shane Ross, has successfully had his prison sentence wiped after a District Court appeal.

The syndicate, which operated across NSW and Queensland, used bogus documents to secure loans for a fleet of luxury vehicles such as Mercedes Benz AMG and Holden Commodore GTS.

A camera-shy Mohamad Alameddine leaves Campbelltown Court last month.

The fraudulent documents were created for non-existent people, ripping off financial institutions about $4.5 million since 2014 police allege.

Commanchero bikie Shane Ross, who was found dead near a bridge yesterday, was convicted for his “significant” role in the syndicate last week by Magistrate Ian Guy at Campbelltown Local Court.

Kogarah man Mohamad Alameddine was last month convicted in the Local Court for storing and driving the fraudulently sourced vehicles and placed on a 15-month Intensive Correction Order

An Intensive Correction Order is a prison sentence to be served in the community.

Alameddine (left) had been placed on a Community Correction Order for driving and storing the fraudulently sourced cars.

The 35-year-old, appearing before Judge Andrew Colefax, successfully had the sentence reduced to a two-year community correction order and 250 hours of community service.

A community correction order is a punishment to hold criminals to account and reduce the risk of reoffending.

Alameddine had pleaded guilty to dealing with the property proceeds of crime after crashing an Audi RS3 Quatro at Turramurra in February 2017. The car had been fraudently sourced by the syndicate.

Shane Ross leaving Campbelltown Court last week after he was convicted for his role in the syndicate.

The Kogarah man told an investigator, working on behalf of an insurance company, he had bought the car just weeks before the crash from Audi Bathurst however the $75,000 car was actually bought three months earlier from Audi Orange.

Finance was secured through false documents.

A Toyota Corolla and Toyota Camry, also fraudently sourced, were found by police at Alameddine’s Bathurst St, Sydney home in May 2017.