Sunny the scammer pleads guilty to new con job days before appeal

A notorious Sydney scammer has pleaded guilty to a new scam just weeks after apologising for his life of crime — and one week before appealing for leniency.

Western Sydney‘s most talented conman has blamed “dark clouds” circling over him when he scammed his way into a luxury lifestyle, and revealed his “tragic” path into a life of crime while fighting numerous new court battles.

The “sincere apology” has emerged as the conman fights to get out of prison on one hand, and pleads guilty to more frauds on the other.

Sunny Sunny was locked up late last month as The Daily Telegraph unmasked him as a prolific fraudster who conned luxury car dealers, high-end brothels, and even gold sellers with fake cheques.

He is spending the rest of the year in John Morony Correctional Centre, a minimum security prison west of Sydney, and facing deportation back to India upon release.

But, last week, Sunny fought two contradictory legal battles in two separate courts.

Scammer Sunny Sunny used fake cheques to con luxury car dealers, high-end brothels and gold sellers.

First he applied for release from prison so he could prepare a legal appeal — he withdrew the application moments before it went before a Parramatta Local Court magistrate.

Perhaps that’s because just days later, in Burwood Local Court, Sunny was being sentenced for scamming a man out of a $9000 gold bar.

A police fact sheet, tendered at Burwood by police prosecutors, said Sunny is a “recidivist fraud offender” with at least three prior convictions for dishonesty.

Sunny, in November 2020, used an alias when he messaged a man selling a 100g bar of 24-carat gold.

Barry Shed, as Sunny called himself at the time, met up at the victim’s house in Punchbowl to inspect the gold. Sunny told the victim a relative would transfer the money, and a bank cheque, worth $9000, landed in the victim’s account as “pending”.

But the cheque was unsigned and, a few days later, the funds vanished from the victim’s account. Sunny was long gone with the gold.

Sunny scammed a Range Rover Evoque using a photoshopped cheque for $46.88 which he sent to Sydney auction house, Pickles.

The quick-thinking victim ultimately got the blank cheque from his bank and spoke with police.

A DNA profile was lifted off the cheque and confirmed the gold seller was just the latest victim of Sunny. It earned him an additional six months in prison.

Sunny, despite his looming deportation, will fight his remaining prison time with a NSW District Court appeal next week.

An apology letter, from his massive fraud case last month revealed Sunny wanted to apologise “from the bottom of my hearts” for the conduct that saw him locked up in the first place.

“The amount of fear that circulates like the dark clouds above me has been suffocating at this time,” Sunny wrote in a letter from the prison library where he works.

“Within the deep distress and chaos, the only thing that sparks hope to live (is) the lesson learnt from these stressful circumstances.”

Sunny told the court, in his letter, that he took the wrong path and he was determined to use his “everlasting” criminal record to keep him on the straight and narrow.

Barry Shed, a.k.a. Sunny Sunny, stole a 100g bar of 24-carat gold. Picture: AP Photo

The serial scammer told the court he arrived in Australia in 2009 to work for his older brother in a transport business.

But, he said, a “tragic accident” in 2017 forced his brother to return to India and left the business weighing on Sunny’s shoulders.

The pandemic, in 2019, hit him hard and debts began racking up on the business, Sunny said in his letter, and he was clashing with his brothers and battling addiction.

“I was mentally very much disturbed. At the time of offending I was very much alone and isolated in my decision making,” he told the court.

Sunny did not explain how he had planned to deal with the debts by giving fake cheques to brothels and car auctions.

“I can understand and have realised how badly my offence had impacted on myself, community and family member.

“I am very sorry for my offences and would like to apology the Australian Community,” he wrote.