Louie Partridge jailed again for attempted online fraud of Service NSW over Covid grants

A Shoal Bay man had only just been jailed for online fraud in July, when a month later he was again slapped with fresh charges relating to Covid pandemic payments.

A convicted fraudster has again gone back to court over further charges of online fraud, attempting to steal more money from the NSW Government.

Louie Walter Partridge, 37, was first charged in March after he successfully applied for tens of thousands of dollars in state and federal grants he wasn’t entitled to, which were meant for businesses and individuals struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic.

As part of the investigation, police raided his Shoal Bay home and while searching for evidence, detectives also seized a gel blaster handgun and ammunition.

Louie Walter Partridge was convicted for attempted online fraud, tried to gain access to Covid-19 grants he was entitled to. Credit: Facebook

Guns and drugs were seized during a raid on Partridge’s Shoal Bay home, on March 22. Picture: Supplied.

They also found two cannabis plants, dried cannabis and 0.4 grams of ice.

After pleading guilty, Partridge was sentenced at Raymond Terrace Local Court in July where he received nine months for the commonwealth offences and 20 months for the state offences.

He successfully appealed the severity of that sentence in the district court where each jail term was slightly reduced.

But the following month, while Partridge was still in custody, he was slapped with two more attempted fraud charges.

Partridge attempted to access NSW Government grants he wasn’t entitled to. Credit: Facebook

Police facts said he tried to log onto the Service NSW website and gain funds of more than $3000 he was never entitled to, but both claims were rejected.

He pleaded guilty to both charges and appeared at Raymond Terrace via video link on Tuesday to learn his fate.

Magistrate Ian Cheetham questioned why the charges hadn’t been dealt with in July, in conjunction with his other fraud offences, which he said could have changed the outcome of his previous sentence.

He told the court Partridge shouldn’t be disadvantaged due to the “failure of the prosecution” to bring it to the courts.

A gun seized at his home in March. Picture: Supplied.

A number of items were seized at Partridge’s house in March. Picture: Supplied.

Partridge’s solicitor Nicholas Hardy-Clements also added it was a period of time his client was experiencing financial difficulty and took it upon himself to make the false applications.

“He’s more than aware of the implications of the offending, only recently being sentenced in this court for similar offences,” he told the court.

“He has expressed his remorse and he won’t engage in this behaviour ever again.”

He was sentenced to seven months in jail, with a non-parole period of three months.

Magistrate Cheetham said his sentence would commence in December, and he would be eligible for release in March next year.