Gosford: Former NRL prodigy Arana Taumata, 35, sentenced for defrauding victims of $163k

A former NRL bad boy has been spared further jail time so he can pay back the victims he ripped off to the tune of $163,000 in a “Ponzi-style” investment scam.

Former NRL player Arana Taumata has been sentenced for domestic violence and fraud. Picture: Instagram

A former NRL bad boy turned running influencer has been released from custody on an intensive correction order after he agreed to pay back the victims he ripped off in a bogus investment scheme.

Former rugby league playmaker Arana Taumata faced Gosford Local Court on Thursday after being convicted of two counts each of fraud and dealing with the proceeds of crime, as well as charges of failing to notify a change of address and assaulting and intimidating his ex-girlfriend.

The 35-year-old, of Saratoga on the NSW Central Coast, had originally pleaded not guilty to the offences and was supposed to face a hearing in June last year.

However, he skipped town and had reinvented himself as a running influencer - under the Instagram handle @freaky_runner_ - before he popped up in news reports from Queensland, where he claimed to have come to the aid of a young woman who was attacked on a popular Brisbane walking track.

A warrant was issued for his arrest and NSW Police caught sight of him leaving the Coogee Pavilion about 10.30pm on October 19.

After rugby league, Taumata reinvented himself as a running influencer on social media. Picture: Instagram

He stiff-armed one officer and bolted but was gang-tackled to the ground after a brief foot pursuit.

Taumata was convicted of resisting police and placed on an 18-month community correction order at Waverley Local Court following that incident, but he was remanded in custody on the fraud and domestic violence charges until Thursday.

The former NRL player was able to slip one officer’s tackle leaving the Coogee Pavilion but was brought to ground by others after a short chase. Picture: Gregg Porteous

His solicitor, Mostafa Daoudie, told Gosford Local Court his client had pledged to pay back his fraud victims.

He said Taumata had spent the past 82 days in custody and would be in a far better position to repay his debt to his victims, and society, if he was able to serve his sentence in the community.

An agreed set of facts states the New Zealand national was employed as a business development manager for a property investment firm until April 2020.

However, he continued to proffer himself as a property investor from the firm after that and “gained the confidence of the victims”.

Arana Taumata leaving Gosford Local Court after an earlier appearance last year. Picture: NewsLocal

The facts state he would transfer some of the money paid by one victim into the other’s account under the guise of “legitimate” dividends — and vice versa — to keep them investing more.

“From the evidence obtained during the investigation, rather than facilitate the legitimate investing of the victim’s superannuation funds, the accused simply used the victims’ funds to reimburse existing clients in a ‘rob Peter to pay Paul’ Ponzi-styled scam,” the facts state.

Arana Taumata claimed he came to the aid of a young woman in distress in Brisbane last year. Picture: Instagram

“Each time a victim received a ‘refund’ from the accused, they believed in the process and continued to transfer funds to the accused.”

However, towards the end of 2021, Taumata disappeared and his victims went to police after they started receiving letters from regulators about their missing super.

The court heard Taumata fleeced one victim of $90,900 and another of $73,050, making up a total of $163,950.

Taumata was charged in July last year, six months before being charged with domestic violence offences when he went around to his ex-girlfriend’s house a few days after they broke up.

There, he assaulted and intimidated her, and recklessly damaged her car door.

Magistrate Scott Nash said while “serious”, the domestic violence offences did not warrant a jail sentence.

He convicted Taumata and put him on a community correction order for a further 12 months.

He also ordered Taumata repay $943 for the damage to the door.

Mr Nash said Taumata did deserve jail for the fraud offences but agreed he was more likely to pay back the victims by serving the sentence by way of an intensive correction order for 17 months.

Conditions of the order include Taumata repaying his victims the full $163,950 and performing 126 hours of community service.

Once feted as a future NRL superstar, the five-eighth’s career never lived up to the hype and his off-field antics resulted in him being sacked by the Broncos, Roosters, Bulldogs and Storm.

He was also let go by the Panthers in 2013.

Originally published as Gosford: Former NRL prodigy Arana Taumata, 35, sentenced for defrauding victims of $163k