Former landscaper Jarrad Garth fronts court over alleged fraud involving nearly $200,000

A former Mornington Peninsula landscaper has allegedly convinced a woman to give him nearly 200k before he relocated to Coffs Harbour.

Former landscaper Jarrad Garth has been ordered to stand trial in County Court for allegedly obtaining nearly $200,000 by deception.

A former Mornington Peninsula landscaper who allegedly stole nearly $200,000 from a woman he previously worked for has been ordered to stand trial.

Jarrad Garth, 41, allegedly fleeced the woman who lived in Bittern of $198,670 between February and December 2020.

She passed away last year after providing two statements to police and giving evidence against Mr Garth at a committal hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates Court in October 2022.

The court committed him to trial in the County Court where the prosecution applied to rely on her police statements and evidence she gave in the Magistrates’ Court.

Mr Garth opposed the application, saying his lawyer did not have the opportunity to question the complainant as the charges were not particularised.

Jarrad Garth allegedly obtained nearly $200,000 from a woman by deception. Picture: istock

Judge Pardeep Tiwana ruled in favour of the prosecution on Thursday and adjourned the matter to April 8 when a trial date could be set.

The judge briefly read out a summary of Mr Garth’s alleged offending as part of his ruling.

The complainant first met Mr Garth when he did landscaping work for her. In early 2020, he became aware that she was relocating to Bittern and throughout that year, Judge Tiwana said. Mr Garth allegedly contacted her to ask for money for various reasons and visited her three to four times a week.

Judge Tiwana said bank statements showed money being withdrawn from her bank account and the same amounts being credited into Mr Garth’s account.

“The prosecution is alleging the money was given to him on the understanding it was a loan and the false representation made by Mr Garth on each occasion she gave the money was that he’d repay the money,” he said.

Jarrad Garth did landscaping work for a woman before he allegedly obtained about $200,000 from her by deception.

In May 2020, she became concerned about whether Mr Garth was going to repay the money and allegedly refused to give him any more money until he acknowledged the amount he owed.

Judge Tiwana said Mr Garth allegedly sent her various text messages between July and December 2020 confirming the money he owed and said it would eventually be repaid.

Mornington Peninsula Criminal Investigation Unit police tracked Mr Garth to a Coffs Harbour address where a warrant for the accused fraudster’s arrest was served on January 31, 2022.

Mr Garth, formerly of Balnarring, relocated to Coffs Harbour suburb of Sandy Beach.

A Facebook post linked to the tradesman stated Mr Garth shifted to the NSW North Coast city in April of 2021.