Adam Meurs pleads guilty to Facebook Marketplace fraud, stealing people’s identities

A man’s gambling addiction drove him to shady dealings on Facebook Marketplace and stealing identities to open lines of credit and get on the punt.

Adam Jacob Meurs faced Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Friday. Picture: Sam Turner

A raid on a Nambour man’s home following his scams on Facebook Marketplace revealed he had stolen people’s identities to open gambling accounts and lines of credit.

Adam Jacob Meurs made the admissions to police after they conducted a search warrant at his property following reports the 40-year-old committed fraud on the social network’s local seller site.

His grubby activities were revealed in the Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Friday after he pleaded guilty to eight charges including four counts of fraud, two of stealing and one of obtaining another’s identification to commit an indictable offence.

Police prosecutor Brendan Newman said the Nambour man, under the alias Matthew Donaldson, accepted $100 for an item advertised on Facebook Marketplace on December 26 last year however did not send it and ceased contact.

Meurs, under the Mr Donaldson moniker again, repeated this on January 1 this year to another buyer but instead took a $50 deposit to hold a used water pressure machine, which he did not send.

Sergeant Newman said police raided Meurs’ home after this where he made admissions to advertising products under an alias.

Meurs pleaded guilty to all charges.

He agreed he took the deposits fraudulently with the intention of not giving them the goods. The 40-year-old made further admissions to collecting bank, Medicare and identification cards of other people.

Meurs told police he used them on gambling accounts on some occasions, as well as Mr Donaldson’s ID to set up his Facebook account.

The court heard a diary was found by police which had credit card numbers, names and emails of people not linked to the 40-year-old.

Meurs told police he bought the details from the internet but said they were often “hit and miss” if the credit cards were active and worked.

The police prosecutor said the Nambour man would either put a tick or a cross against the details in his diary.

The court was told Meurs used them to create more gambling accounts and obtain credit. He admitted he had a gambling addiction.

Once at Nambour police station, further shady dealings surfaced which Meurs was wanted for questioning over.

He left court after his sentence.

This involved Meurs receiving $880 from a Gumtree buyer for a $4000 trailer, where Meurs told the buyer he would drive it to the victim, which never eventuated. He also never returned $6179 of items from Kennards Hire Brendale.

Sergeant Newman said Meurs had no criminal history.

Duty lawyer Madalyn Olivero said the Nambour man, who was a grandfather, was on the disability pension after injuring his back.

Ms Olivero was instructed Meurs struggled with the cost of living during the offending, despite the court hearing the 40-year-old opened gambling accounts with the identities he stole.

Magistrate Rod Madsen said it went in Meurs favour he made “very frank” admissions to his crimes, even some the police were not aware of.

Mr Madsen said there was some degree of premeditation and complexity to his schemes, which he said appeared to come while in the grips of a gambling addiction.

Meurs was jailed for nine months, to be suspended immediately for two years. He was also placed on two years’ probation.

Originally published as Adam Meurs pleads guilty to Facebook Marketplace fraud, stealing people’s identities