Cameron Stewart: Kempsey man accused of defrauding bushfire charities, Centrelink of $35k
Kempsey’s Cameron Stewart went to great lengths to defraud not-for-profit bushfire charities, Centrelink and welfare recipients out of $35,000. Now it has been revealed in court how he did it.
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Kempsey man Cameron Stewart befriended vulnerable men and women to defraud the Australian welfare system, and falsified documents with not-for-profit charities to steal tens of thousands of dollars reserved for bushfire relief victims.
The elaborate police facts tendered in Kempsey Local Court against Stewart, 23, detail the extraordinary lengths he went to to obtain about $35,000 in stolen money by defrauding and deceiving charities, Centrelink and welfare-dependant people from November last year.
His victims include the Salvation Army, Anglicare and Red Cross charities, and three unsuspecting welfare recipients he befriended before using them as means to steal money from Centrelink.
One of his victims has autism and another a brain injury.
He has pleaded guilty to five counts of dishonestly obtain property by deception, four counts of obtain a financial advantage by deception and two counts of deal in identification information and use it to commit fraud
He will fight two charges of stalk/intimidate intending fear.
The 23-year-old is also facing two unrelated charges of common assault against his partner, Amy Simpson, and use of offensive weapon to commit indictable offence. He is serving strict bail conditions for these alleged offences.
Police first became aware of Stewart’s activities of fraudulent behaviour when they received information that he was in possession of a large sum of cash, about $7000, some cannabis and a pistol.
Police spoke with him on 7 February, 2020 at a Nambucca Heads property. He told them he had received $2500 from the Salvation Army from a bushfire relief package and $20,000 from the Red Cross due to
property damage at 49 Seaview Street, Nambucca Heads.
He showed police the transaction records and emails on his phone showing receipts and invoices from the charities. A payment of $250 was made by the Salvation Army on January 10, and one of $2250 on February 3.
Two other payments of $10,000 were made by the Red Cross on January 1 and 28, 2020.
Police also observed material on his mobile phone containing photographic evidence of fire-related damage to his property.
It included pictures of burning white goods that had been taken from the internet, and photos of burning clothes which had been deliberately lit.
The material was among evidence used in claims he made to three separate charities – the Salvation Army, Red Cross and Anglicare – to defraud them of more than $24,500.
Police became suspicious that the material was being used to falsify documents for bushfire relief claims, because the property he lived in at Nambucca Heads was never within last year’s devastating Mid-North-Coast fire zone.
As a result, police contacted a Red Cross Operations Manager on March 27 who said that Stewart had made a claim for grant money. He said he had provided evidence that his house was in the bushfire zone, so they deposited an amount of $10,000 on January 1, and a further $10,00 on January 28.
Further requests for more money were also made on March 5 and 9, but this was declined.
Three days later on March 30, police attended the Nambucca Resort for an unrelated matter, where they charged Stewart after he made admissions on body cam worn by police about the falsified claims.
However, his defrauding didn’t stop there, according to court documents.
On April 4, having already obtained about $22,000, he then contacted another charity – Anglicare – providing records of his fraudulent claims made to the Red Cross and Salvation Army.
According to court documents, he informed them that he had spot fires in his yard, damage to his gutters, burnt boundary fences and exploded windows from the force of the fire. He claimed that Nambucca Shire Council declared the house unlivable.
He also told them he had been medically discharged from the Navy, that he was living in short term accommodation in Kempsey and that he had lost all his belongings. So, on April 30, Anglicare made a deposit of $2000 into his account.
When Anglicare became suspicious about his claims in June, they arranged for a representative to go to the address. Police were called and a search warrant was executed at the property. All three agencies are now seeking compensation.
According to court documents, in addition to the stolen charity money, Mr Stewart also dishonestly obtained about $10,000 from Centrelink, claiming welfare payments on behalf of three people and siphoning them into his own account.
Mr Stewart contacted Centrelink on behalf of John Lyndin, a brain injury sufferer who thought Mr Stewart was an NDIS support worker. He stole $1780 he claimed was for Mr Lyndin, and kept it for himself.
He also did the same to Belinda Cameron to gain $3885, before befriending his third victim, Izaac Frederick, who has autism and receives a disability support pension. Mr Stewart befriended Mr Frederick, making calls to Centrelink claiming to be his friend.
He used his falsified relationship to access $3186 for Mr Frederick, that he again siphoned into his own account by providing updated details of his own.
When the victim‘s mother, Geraldine Dean, allegedly approached the accused about the fraudulent activity, he allegedly threatened to bash her. He also allegedly made threats against Mr Frederick, chastising him for being responsible for a Facebook post warning people of Mr Stewart’s activities.
“You want to throw fists, I’ll come down and bash you,” he allegedly said to Mr Frederick.
Police charged Mr Stewart on October 4, where he remained in custody until he was released on Friday 16 October under strict bail conditions.
He is to reside at a specific Port Macquarie address and to not make contact with his partner, Amy Simpson, which he has been charged with assaulting.
He will reappear in Kempsey Local Court on 4 December.