Kelly Percy wins appeal after defrauding almost $50K from bushfire charities
A south coast woman duped three charities out of almost $50,000 claiming she lost her house during the Clyde Mountain bushfire.
The South Coast News
Don't miss out on the headlines from The South Coast News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story stated that Ms Percy had failed in an attempt to have her sentence reduced. That was incorrect. Ms Percy‘s sentence was reduced in the District Court.
A south coast woman who defrauded bushfire charities of almost $50,000 by faking her address has won in her bid to have her sentence reduced.
Kelly Anne Percy, 39, of Surf Beach near Batemans Bay, was sentenced to two years in prison in September after pleading guilty to five charges of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception.
Bega District Court Judge Robyn Tupman reduced Percy’s original sentence of two years on December 2 to 18 months, with a non-parole period of six months.
Percy defrauded the Red Cross of $40,000, the Salvation Army of $3500 and the St Vincent de Paul Society of $4000 by using a fake address and lying about fire damage to her home address in Surf Beach.
She was arrested in June after suspicions were raised by Red Cross Australia when she was unable to provide relevant documents proving she lived at the Malua Bay address she claimed had been destroyed by the Clyde Mountain bushfire on New Year’s Eve 2019.
The bushfire burned for almost two months, destroying 400,000 hectares and destroying 500 homes.
After the disaster, almost $283 million was donated by the community to charities dealing with residents who had lost homes and properties.
Court documents reveal, the actual tenants of the rural Malua Bay address had evacuated early on New Year’s Day as the fire approached quickly and “without warning”.
The owner had no time to collect belongings or even put on shoes as she fled the fire, returning later the same day to find her home and all her belongings completely destroyed.
On January 30 this year Percy contacted the Red Cross, claiming her Malua Bay home had been destroyed by the fire, and attempted to claim $20,000 from the charity’s bushfire fund.
Later the same day she called the Salvation Army saying her actual Surf Beach home, which she shared with her family, had fencing damage from the fire, from which she had to evacuate for four days.
She received $300 from the charity.
Court documents reveal there was no bushfire damage at the address.
On February 2, the Red Cross contacted Percy seeking proof she lived at Malua Bay and the following day she filled out an online application for bushfire relief with the St Vincent de Paul Society and received $4000.
On February 12, Percy went to the Batemans Bay bushfire recovery centre and approached the Salvation Army claiming her Surf Beach home was actually a large property with a shed and received $3200 after claiming it had been destroyed.
The next day she emailed the Red Cross with a bank statement addressed to the fake Malua Bay address, and the next day the Red Cross left her a voicemail requesting further proof including any photo ID.
On February 19, she told the Red Cross she didn’t have any photo ID with the fake address but could provide a receipt from a Harvey Norman purchase. The next day she emailed the Red Cross a screenshot of an Ebay purchase with the fake address.
Police were later sceptical the purchased item would be delivered to a destroyed address.
She then presented the Red Cross with a Centrelink statement with the fake Malua Bay address but with rental payments shown paying for the Surf Beach address.
The Red Cross then put a hold on her relief payment “due to suspicions she was not being truthful”, documents said.
Percy then made a second application to the Red Cross using her Surf Beach address, this time stating it had been destroyed by fire.
Her home was searched by police on June 18, where she was arrested and taken to Batemans Bay Police Station.
During her September sentencing in Batemans Bay Local Court Magistrate Doug Dick noted Percy’s childhood trauma, mental health issues and her substance abuse.
She will be paroled on March 24 next year.
Bail plea for young mum with ‘growing’ criminal history
A young mother with a “slowly growing” criminal history has returned to court, applying for bail after allegedly breaching the conditions of a sentence with an act of intimidation.
Eight men accused of trafficking 28,000 fish in criminal operation
Eight men accused of taking part in a statewide criminal fish trafficking operation have appeared before court over allegations of trafficking 28,000 Blacklip Abalone. Here’s the latest.