Matthew James Wallace, owner of RSC Performance, on trial for fraud after allegedly dishonestly obtaining $15k

A court has heard the owner of an automotive business made multiple false claims to a customer, including that his wife had cancer, because he was afraid of him. READ THE LATEST.

RSC Performance Townsville owner Matthew Wallace is on trial for fraud after allegedly dishonestly obtaining $15,000 from a customer. PICTURE: Matt Taylor.

The reason the owner of RSC Performance lied to a customer about his wife having cancer and wouldn’t give him his mechanic’s real name and number was because he was afraid of him, a court has heard.

The trial of Matthew James Wallace continued on Tuesday morning where he pleaded not guilty to one charge of fraud where it is alleged he lied to Rick Gore about the restoration progress of his yellow 1972 Ford Falcon to dishonestly obtain $15,000.

During the crown’s closing argument, prosecutor Rana Aldas said Mr Wallace had written in a text message to Mr Gore that the gearbox, engine and clutch were ‘done’ when the items had not yet been completely restored, rebuilt or replaced.

“He was deliberately lying, that was obviously dishonest, and by doing that he’s obtained $15,000,” she said.

The jury heard during his interview with police, Mr Wallace told the detective when he wrote ‘done’, he meant the engine had been sent out after being stripped from the car, the gearbox was being sourced and he didn’t know what he had meant by the clutch being done.

“His explanation is so poor because it was an attempt to attach a meaning to his message that’s simply not true,” Mr Aldas said.

A photo of a yellow 1972 Ford Falcon which Matthew Wallace, the owner of RSC Performance, was tasked with restoring. (PHOTO: Facebook)

The crown also argued he couldn’t be considered a credible source of information because of the multiple lies he had told including telling Mr Gore his wife had cancer, which he later admitted to police wasn’t true.

Mr Wallace’s wife is not accused of any wrongdoing.

Ms Aldas said he had also told police that 10 to 15 people with weapons had shown up at his workshop with Mr Gore when he came to collect the car, a statement that was not corroborated by any other witnesses.

Defence barrister Tom Hancock said the message which said the work was ‘done’ wasn’t a misrepresentation of the restoration progress, it was instead a miscommunication between the two men.

Mr Wallace and Mr Gore came to a verbal agreement before the restoration began that the project would take two and a half years and would cost up to $230,000, the court heard.

Mr Hancock said when Mr Wallace sent the message outlining that the components were ‘done’, he had only had the ford falcon for four months and received $45,000 from Mr Gore.

“If he was trying to communicate that the engine, the gearbox, the clutch and the interior were completed then he’d have asked for much more money,” he said.

The defence said they accepted Mr Wallace lied about the mechanic, his wife’s health and the people at the workshop, but it was because he was afraid of Mr Gore and believed he had bikie connections.

“Mr Wallace tells increasingly desperate lies to avoid or placate Mr Gore,” Mr Hancock said.

“Mr Gore started this arrangement by saying ‘don’t rip me off’.

“In the history of mankind has that phrase ever been anything other than a veiled threat.”

Judge Leanne Clare SC is expected to complete her summing up of the case on Tuesday afternoon with the jury set to begin their deliberations on Wednesday in Townsville District Court.

Previously in the Trial

The owner of a popular custom automotive painting business allegedly made false claims his wife had cancer and lied to a customer about the progress of his car restoration to squeeze another $15,000 out of him, a court has heard.

The trial of Matthew James Wallace began on Friday in the Townsville District Court where he pleaded not guilty to one count of fraud.

On Friday, Crown prosecutor Rana Aldas told the jury that in 2020 the owner of a yellow 1972 Ford Falcon, Rick Gore, reached out to RSC Performance in hopes of fully restoring the vehicle.

“When (Mr Wallace) picked up the car, the car was running and had all its parts and (Mr Gore) gave (Mr Wallace) $10,000 to commence works,” she said.

The car was allegedly stripped down and sandblasted by staff, with parts sent away to be rebuilt, and after an update was sent to Mr Gore he transferred a further $20,000 to Mr Wallace.

The alleged fraud occurred in January 2021, when Mr Wallace sent an update to Mr Gore and said the engine, gearbox, clutch and interior was “done”, Ms Aldas said.

Mr Wallace then asked for another $15,000, which Mr Gore transferred, the jury heard.

The updates began to dry out after this, the crown said, and after Mr Gore chased up for more information he was given a fake name and number of the mechanic working on the engine by Mr Wallace.

RSC Performance Townsville owner Matthew Wallace (MIDDLE) is on trial for fraud after it was alleged he dishonestly obtained $15,000 from a customer. PICTURE: Matt Taylor.

The court was told that Mr Wallace also made excuses about delays, and said his wife had been told that she had cancer, something he later told police wasn’t true.

Ms Aldas said a month later the customer attended the workshop because he “just wanted his car back,” and instead found the unpainted body of the ford falcon.

After the matter had been reported to police, Mr Wallace told a detective when Mr Gore showed up at the RSC performance warehouse he was in the company of “10 to 15 people … with weapons”, Ms Aldas said.

Defence barrister Tom Hancock said it would be up to the jury to decide what Mr Wallace meant when he meant by “done” in the message update to the car owner when he requested the last instalment of money.

On Monday, the court heard from the mechanic tasked with rebuilding the engine who said he didn’t hear from Mr Wallace for multiple months, halting the repair, before he passed on the details of another mechanic who could work on it instead.

Two employees who worked for Mr Gore and helped him pick up the car parts from RSC performance also took the stand and said they were the only ones who attended the warehouse with their boss and they didn’t have any weapons.

The trial is set to resume on Tuesday morning.

Originally published as Matthew James Wallace, owner of RSC Performance, on trial for fraud after allegedly dishonestly obtaining $15k