Conwoman who stole thousands in ‘brazen’ scam avoids jail

A fraudster who assumed her victims’ identities via stolen IDs before robbing hundreds of thousands of dollars in a scam that “could be a film script” has dodged jail.

Kristel Galvin-Samie has avoided jail after pleading guilty to charges including theft and obtaining financial advantage by deception. Picture: Ian Currie

A conniving conwoman who stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from victims of stolen IDs by assuming their identities with wigs and sunglasses has avoided jail.

Kristel Galvin-Samie, 36, was sentenced at the County Court on Thursday to a two-year community corrections order after she pleaded guilty to charges including theft and obtaining financial advantage by deception.

During his sentencing remarks, Judge Michael McInerney described Samie’s offending as “sophisticated” and “brazen” but acknowledged her steps towards rehabilitation warranted a community sentence.

“This type of behaviour could be a film script,” he said.

“These are very serious charges (but) because of the excellent steps you’ve taken … the court has decided to give you a chance.”

Kristel Galvin-Samie.

A friend looked back at Samie who was seated in the courtroom dock and smiled as the sentence was read out.

The former client relationship manager stole customer IDs and personal information from a computer database she had access to through her role at vehicle leasing company FleetPlus.

With two other co-accused women, Samie used the stolen IDs to access the victims’ bank accounts or to open fraudulent new accounts in their name.

The fraudsters transposed pictures of one of the offenders on to the IDs before assuming their identities by wearing hair wigs and sunglasses and attending the bank branches in person.

The trio would withdraw large sums of money or apply for personal loans before transferring the cash to other fraudulent accounts.

At a Box Hill bank in May 2018, Samie withdrew $30,000 in cash from a victim’s account and transferred more than $135,000 to other accounts held in fake names.

She used a fraudulent Victorian driver’s licence and working with children check card in another person’s name to carry out the theft.

On another occasion, a bank teller became suspicious when Samie tried to withdraw $25,000 while wearing a blonde-coloured wig with dark clothing and her left hand bandaged.

The teller went out the back to talk to a manager about the fraudulent licence but on her return found Samie had disappeared.

Judge McInerney noted Samie’s past employment at ANZ, Westpac and GE Capital likely enabled her to carry out the scheme.

She used the stolen money to finance her serious drug and online gambling addiction, with the latter costing up to $1000 per day.

When police raided Samie’s Point Cook address in August 2018, they found a USB containing the information of more than 100 former FleetPlus customers.

In a letter to the court, Samie said she was remorseful for her crimes and had since undergone drug rehabilitation.

Having spent more than eight months in prison Judge McInerney said Samie had spent adequate time in custody.

He sentenced her to a two-year community corrections order and fined her $5000.

She must also complete 200 hours of community work and continue rehabilitation.

Surrounded by an entourage of friends and family, Samie was tight-lipped as she left the County Court, refusing to answer questions from reporters about her crimes.