Toowoomba man’s scam turns out to be a lot of bullion

A 26-year-old Toowoomba man has fronted court for fraud, after he was caught selling fake gold and furniture through social media channels.

Generic image of bars (ingots) of gold bullion.

A 26-YEAR-OLD Toowoomba man who scammed people into buying fake bullion has been ordered to pay more than $4000 back to his victims.

Nicholas Anthony Ward had advertised the sale of gold bullion bars through social media sites under the guise of a dealer by the name of Stanley Raynor.

After advertising a gold bullion bar for $2500, he was contacted on April 6 by a 49-year-old Brisbane coin collector who agreed to pay $2500 for the bullion, the money for which she transferred into his account, Toowoomba Magistrates Court heard.

However, after some weeks when the bullion was not forthcoming, the woman tried to contact “the dealer” only to find she had been blocked, police prosecutor Rowan Brewster-Webb told the court.

Four days after that initial “sale” of bullion, a 47-year-old Brisbane man had contacted Ward after agreeing to pay the advertised $1800 for bullion.

The Brisbane collector had travelled to Toowoomba on April 6 to meet with “Stanley Raynor” and take possession of the gold bullion, Mr Brewster-Webb said.

They met at Clifford Gardens Shopping Centre where the buyer took receipt of the bullion and used two ATMs to withdraw $1800 cash which he handed to the dealer.

Upon his arrival back home in Brisbane, the man unwrapped his package to find the bullion was fake.

Again, when he tried to contact Ward, he was blocked, Mr Brewster-Webb said.

CCTV footage from Clifford Gardens showed Ward standing nearby as the victim withdrew the cash from the ATMs, the court heard.

Ward pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud arising from those matters as well as to a third count of fraud after he sold a coffee table for $300 to a 44-year-old Brisbane woman who never received it.

She too was blocked when she tried to contact Ward.

Defence solicitor Phil Stainton told the court his client had owned a business making wood items but due to ill health he had not fulfilled his orders and the woman from Brisbane was one of those he had not refunded as he had others.

His client instructed he had bought $900 of bullion from a person and had decided to onsell it, he said.

His client had health problems and had been diagnosed with PTSD, Mr Stainton said.

Noting he had no previous criminal history, Magistrate Kay Ryan ordered the convictions not be recorded and placed Ward on nine months probation and ordered he pay full compensation of $4600.