Richard Spinocchia: Engadine fraudster sentenced to home detention after swindling $6000

A fraudster, who swindled more than $6000 by arranging the sale and delivery of non-existent shipping containers, has been sentenced.

Fraudster Richard Spinocchia outside Sutherland Local Court. Picture: Ashleigh Tullis

A tow truck driver has narrowly avoided going to prison after a magistrate agreed to sentence him to home detention for defrauding unsuspecting people.

Richard Alexander Spinocchia, 49, fronted Sutherland Local Court on Thursday where he was placed on an intensive corrections order to be served through home detention, if his home is deemed suitable.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception and recklessly dealing with the proceeds of crime.

Agreed facts tendered to court said investigators discovered Spinocchia had defrauded two women when he did not provide them with the goods they had paid for nor did he refund them.

A woman contacted Spinocchia on April 13 last year to purchase a shipping container.

Spinocchia provided an invoice with a quote of $3700 for the supply and delivery of the container to the upper Hunter Region, documents state.

The invoice email was sent from Spinocchia’s address and under the business name Tilt Tray Services.

ABN checks confirmed the business had been registered to Spinocchia since April 2015.

The woman paid the full amount that day into Spinocchia’s bank account with both parties agreeing for the container to be delivered on April 24.

However, Spinocchia failed to drop off the shipping container and when the woman called, he claimed he had been in an accident, documents state.

Spinocchia stopped communicating with the woman despite numerous attempts via mobile phone and email. The money not refunded.

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Only a couple weeks later, another woman was ripped off after Spinocchia responded to an advertisement she placed on website, Truckit, requesting a shipping container she owned be moved from Victoria to NSW.

Spinocchia replied with a quote of $2409, before he sent the woman an invoice from Tilt Tray Services.

On May 9, the woman deposited the money into Spinocchia’s account before the pair exchanged messages about pick up and delivery location and dates.

On May 25, the container had not been collected and the woman made numerous attempts to contact Spinocchia to no success. She was not refunded.

The court documents said Spinocchia’s bank records revealed immediately after the money was deposited he accessed it and used it for everyday purchases.

On January 16, police arrested Spinocchia’s at his Engadine home and charged him.

The court heard Spinocchia had ripped off six other people between $1000 and $3000, totalling $13,300 in 2019.

Spinocchia would post an advertisement on Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace for the sale and delivery of a shipping container.

Funds would be agreed and transferred but the container was never delivered.

Spinocchia would stop communicating and not refund the money.

He also defrauded his former employer, Avionics Airfield Lighting, of $6841 for 42 fraudulent transactions at petrol stations using a fuel card between 2017 and 2019.

Spinocchia was previously convicted for the 2019 offences but breached the courts orders through the further offending and was therefore re-sentenced for those crimes.

In court, Magistrate Phillip Stewart said Spinocchia’s crimes justified a jail sentence but allowed him to not go into custody.

He must be supervised by community corrections and he will be allowed to continue working.

Spinocchia has lodged an appeal against his sentence.