Former Cronulla Sharks player Reece Piepers sentenced after elaborate Airtasker scam
A former rising NRL star for the Cronulla Sharks who spiralled into gambling addiction has been sentenced in court after he fleeced victims out of thousands of dollars in an elaborate online scam.
NSW
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A former rising NRL star for the Cronulla Sharks who spiralled into gambling addiction has been sentenced in a Central Coast court after he fleeced victims out of thousands of dollars in an elaborate online scam.
Reece Phillip Piepers, of Umina Beach, pleaded guilty in the Gosford Magistrates’ Court on Thursday to a number of fraud charges, in which he posed as a labourer on Airtasker and never undertook the work.
The former reserve grade player for the Sharks – most recently a first-grade player for the Woy Woy Roosters – became entrenched in gambling debts in recent years, reportedly owing upwards of $50,000.
On Thursday, Piepers was sentenced in Gosford Local Court, with his “new-found honesty” helping him narrowly avoid time in prison.
It was heard in court the former footy talent defrauded victims of $28,000.
Piepers had previously been jailed for similar offences in August 2023 to fuel his gambling addiction.
After appealing his sentence in the District Court two weeks later, he was placed on an intensive corrections order.
The court heard on Thursday Piepers’ offences took place between 2022 and 2023 and occurred prior to the time he was sentenced to jail.
In one case, he defrauded a man of $17,000 to undertake renovations at his home.
It wasn’t until the victim read an article in this publication that he realised he was the subject of fraud.
Magistrate Kirralee Perry said the “repetitive nature of the offending” and the “repetitive nature of the advantage he took of multiple victims” were aggravating features.
“It was for your own financial gain to support your gambling habit,” Ms Perry said.
The court heard Piepers had lost count of the number of times he had been convicted for similar offending.
Ms Perry said Piepers had been sentenced to “pages and pages” of offending of the same kind.
Ms Perry said Piepers’ sentence of being placed on an intensive corrections order instead of jail time was “a turning point”.
“It looks to me that you have actually used it as a turning point,” Ms Perry said.
“The challenge moving forward is to maintain that new-found sense of right and new-found honesty,” she said.
Piepers was sentenced to an intensive corrections order and also ordered to undertake 200 hours of community service.
Ms Perry also ordered Piepers to pay money back to his victims.
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Originally published as Former Cronulla Sharks player Reece Piepers sentenced after elaborate Airtasker scam
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