Xiao Jie Zhang: Chinese national accused of credit card scam arrested at Granville
A man accused of being the primary user in an alleged $800,000 credit card scam involving almost 2000 transactions requested bail so he could look after his ill mother.
Parramatta
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A Chinese national accused of being the chief user in an alleged $800,000 credit card scam has lost his application for bail after a court heard he had a “willingness to defraud people”.
Rydalmere man Xiao Jie Zhang, 42, was charged with 34 counts of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception.
On Tuesday, a 32-year-old Homebush woman was charged with four counts of the same offence in 2016.
After being granted bail, she was ordered to appear at Burwood Local Court on March 12.
Police allege Zhang was the primary card user in the scam which included 1990 transactions on a credit card totalling $777,472.
It will also be alleged that he fraudulently obtained another eight credit cards to the value of $111,000.
In opposing bail at Parramatta Local Court on Thursday, the prosecution said there were concerns Zhang, a Chinese national, would fail to attend court appearances, would be a risk to the community, was likely to reoffend and could escape to China.
The prosecution told the court Zhang made $500,000 worth of fraudulent transactions with American Express and other offences between 2015 and 2018.
Last year he was charged with obtaining property by deception, for which is still serving an intensive correction order.
“He has a bad record,’’ the prosecutor said.
“They’re complex matters, they’re intricate and display a high level of planning and willingness to defraud people.”
The court heard Zhang regularly visited China but Cumberland police have since seized his passport.
Zhang, who appeared in the dock, told Magistrate Rodney Brender he complied with bail conditions for previous offences and had two months left on the intensive corrections order.
“I’m still reporting to the police station every day, no fail,” he said.
“I can comply to the strict bail conditions.’’
Zhang also told the court his mother suffered high blood pressure but Mr Brender said that did “not outweigh the risks of further offending and failing to appear given he’s a foreign national and these are serious charges because of the volume’’.
Cumberland police established Strike Force Evesham in 2018 to investigate a credit card scam which operated across Sydney between 2015 and 2018.
The matter was adjourned to March 5 when Zhang is due to enter a plea.