Paris Lincoln sentenced for crime spree involving stolen rental cars, number plates, and fake IDs

A Rockdale woman has learned her fate after she led police on a “Catch Me If You Can” crime spree through Sydney involving fake IDs, stolen hire cars, number plate thefts, and a dramatic final arrest.

Lincoln was sentenced in Sutherland Local Court on September 5 nearly a year after her arrest. Picture: 7NEWS

A Rockdale crook will remain behind bars for another month after she led police on a “Catch Me If You Can” crime spree involving fake IDs, rental cars, and stolen number plates.

Paris Lincoln, 33, who also uses the surnames Fettell and Fettek, was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment at Sutherland Local Court earlier this month.

It comes after Lincoln previously pleaded guilty to 14 charges including stealing a car, using a false document to obtain property, two counts of larceny, and unlawfully possessing an item resembling an Australian driver’s licence.

Lincoln also pleaded guilty to two counts of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception, using a false document to obtain financial advantage, larceny, and stealing a motor vehicle.

Court documents state the crime spree started when Lincoln used a woman’s licence and stolen Medicare card to hire a Mitsubishi Outlander from Luxridge2go in September, last year.

She used the woman’s licence to withdraw $5000 from the victim’s bank account and met with the company owner after contacting him on Facebook.

The crime spree ended in November 2023 when Lincoln was arrested. Picture: 7NEWS

Lincoln convinced the owner to rent her the car after paying a cash deposit and sending him photos of the fake licence, Medicare card, and an electricity bill in the victim’s name.

Documents state Lincoln failed to make continued payments for the car, but kept communicating with the owner, making excuses for the delay and promising the money in an attempt to delay him from reporting the car as stolen, court documents state.

A month later, Lincoln and her alleged co-accused Saddam Hamze, 33, stole bank cards, identification documents, and $400 cash from a restaurant owner in Eastwood after Lincoln reached over the counter to steal the man’s Gucci wallet under the ruse of buying takeaway.

Court documents state Lincoln and the alleged co-accused, Hamze, used the stolen cards to buy $39 worth of McDonalds and cigarettes in West Ryde.

During this time, Lincoln used the same fake ID to hire another rental vehicle from Europcar.

Investigators became aware Lincoln was stealing number plates from other vehicles and affixing them to the Outlander in mid November.

Lincoln’s alleged co-accused, Saddam Hamze, was also arrested. Picture: 7NEWS

The crime spree ended when Lincoln attempted to visit the Merrylands Bowling Club to play the pokies.

Lincoln presented the same driver’s licence used to hire the rental car, which unbeknown to her, was already in the system, leading staff to recognise Lincoln was an entirely different person and in fact, already banned from the club.

Court documents state the alarm was raised and two weeks later, Lincoln and the her alleged co-accused were dramatically arrested at a Rockdale service station on November 28.

Police seized the stolen Outlander and found items including a NSW driver’s licence with the photo removed and replaced with a photo of Lincoln, as well as a Medicare card and credit cards in the same name.

In court last Thursday, Lincoln appeared via audiovisual link from custody where she has been held since the arrest.

She wiped away tears as her defence lawyer submitted Lincoln wanted to “break away” from crime and drug use, and “integrate into the community and become a traffic controller” upon her release from prison.

Lincoln was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment. Picture: 7NEWS

Magistrate Hugh Donnelly noted Lincoln had an “extensive criminal history” and “attitude of disobedience to the law”, but appreciated her attempts to rehabilitate while in custody.

Mr Donnelly also found Lincoln was “not the dominant player” in the offending and may have fallen prey to the “mastermind” of the brazen crime spree.

“One of the things that struck me was there were clearly people around the defendant who were more dominant than she was,” he said.

Mr Donnelly sentenced Lincoln to an aggregate term of imprisonment of 20 months backdated to the time of her arrest.

She will be released on parole on October 27.

Hamze will face Parramatta Local Court later this month for a hearing after pleading not guilty to 32 charges including larceny, unlawfully possessing number plates and using a vehicle with unauthorised number plate affixed.

On the same day, Hamze will be sentenced after pleading guilty to 10 other charges including assaulting a police officer in the execution of duty, goods in personal custody suspected of being stolen, and be carried in conveyance taken without owner consent.