Convicted perjurer Nelly Yoa gets another claim to fame after Premier’s staff ‘unwittingly’ share LIV Golf launch social media post

A Victorian man who rose to prominence through outlandish lies that eventually landed him in court has now dragged our own Premier into his latest publicity stunt.

Convicted perjurer and attention-seeking liar Nelly Yoa has tricked Premier Peter Malinauskas’ social media team to help facilitate his latest publicity stunt in Adelaide.

Yoa – who is known for his fabrication of outlandish stories in Victoria – has been promoted to hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram after Mr Malinauskas and Greg Norman both shared his post about the LIV Golf Tour launch on Monday.

The post from Yoa featured a photo – taken by someone in the room – of Mr Malinauskas and Norman on stage with a caption that described the coup as a “massive get for Adelaide and Australia”.

But it’s highly unlikely Yoa was in the room given his track record. A government spokesman said the post was unwittingly shared by a member of the Premier’s staff.

The shared post caught the eye of a several people on Twitter.

Nelly Yoa holding a press conference in relation to his employment as a contact tracer. Picture: Jason Edwards

“Nelly Yoa popped up in the most random place on my social media today … reshared by SA’s Premier on Instagram, at the LIV golf announcement,” one person posted.

“Nelly Yoa getting his IG story reposted by the SA Premier and The Shark. Talked himself into a decent seat for the announcement too, imagine work’s already started on access to a few names at Grange. LIV and this bloke a match made in heaven – all cash no questions,” another posted.

Yoa rose to prominence back in 2018 when he fabricated a story – which made the front page of The Age – about his involvement mentoring South Sudanese youth during a rise in gang violence in Victoria.

He was condemned for his comments by community leaders.

Nelly Yoa's posts shared by Premier Peter Malinauskas and Greg Norman. Premier Peter Malinauskas has since unfollowed Nelly Yoa's account.

Nelly Yoa's posts shared by Premier Peter Malinauskas and Greg Norman.

Yoa was later convicted for perjury after he fabricated a story to police about being assaulted by a woman. He arrived at court in a limousine, flanked by body guards he said were organised by notorious underworld figure Mick Gatto.

During sentencing, magistrate Felicity Broughton described him as a “narcissistic individual”.

His outlandish claims have led to a cult following of 231,000 on his ‘verified’ Instagram account. He received two new followers in Mr Malinauskas and Mr Norman following his stunt on Monday.

Mr Malinauskas has since unfollowed the account.

His social media pages are littered with posts that stray far from the truth, including a claim that he was nominated for Australian of the Year in 2021. He has also lied about being a close friend of Usain Bolt’s.

He was strutting his stuff on the red carpet at the 2018 Brownlow Medal, but was kicked out after he was found hiding in a toilet, despite claiming he’d received a VIP invitation.

Originally published as Convicted perjurer Nelly Yoa gets another claim to fame after Premier’s staff ‘unwittingly’ share LIV Golf launch social media post