Kempsey’s Cameron Stewart ‘squandered’ gran’s life savings to gamble
A man used 15 fake identities to get disaster payments, but his cruellest crime targeted someone closer to home when he turned to his partner’s gran.
A man has been sentenced to prison for a brazen fraud spree that targeted both the Commonwealth and his partner’s elderly grandmother in Evans Head.
Cameron Stewart, 28, used 15 victim identities and three separate phones to impersonate victims in a deliberate and persistent fraud operation against the Commonwealth in 2021.
But his most devastating crime involved stealing his partner’s grandmother’s entire life savings of $47,000 two years later.
Coffs Harbour Local Court heard Stewart manipulated his then-partner to borrow money from her grandmother, then secretly accessed the partner’s phone to change account details for the transfer.
Reading from agreed facts, magistrate Peter Thompson told the court Stewart “unlocked her device and changed codes on the account including his own thumbprint”.
Once he had access to the grandmother’s account, Stewart transferred the maximum daily limit every day until nothing remained.
“He depleted her entire life savings,” Mr Thompson said, adding that the theft had severely impacted the 74-year old’s lifestyle and retirement.
The court heard the money had been “squandered” and Stewart had no means to repay it.
Stewart’s Commonwealth fraud was equally systematic in its execution.
Between April and August 2021, Stewart made 19 fraudulent claims totalling $19,361.41 from Commonwealth emergency payment schemes including disaster recovery, Covid payments, and crisis support.
Money from the fraudulent claims was deposited into accounts belonging to Stewart.
Defence solicitor Terry Miller told the court his client had pleaded guilty to all charges and suffered from gambling and substance abuse issues, PTSD, and depressive disorder.
Stewart appeared via video link from Kempsey Correctional Centre wearing prison greens and a rosary bead necklace for sentencing on Wednesday.
He was convicted and sentenced for two counts of obtain a financial advantage by deception, 16 counts of dishonestly cause a loss
For the Commonwealth fraud, he received a 12-month custodial sentence.
For defrauding the elderly grandmother, he was sentenced to 18 months with a non-parole period of 10 months, with special circumstances granted due to his mental health issues.
Stewart will be eligible for release on June 6, 2026.
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Originally published as Kempsey’s Cameron Stewart ‘squandered’ gran’s life savings to gamble
