A Melbourne woman who used wigs and sunglasses to hoodwink some of Australia’s biggest banks into giving her more than $260,000 belonging to other customers has walked free from court, in a case likened to a “film script”.
Key points:
- Kristel Galvin-Samie posed as other people to withdraw large sums of cash and apply for a home loan
- She was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and complete a community corrections order
- The sentencing judge said she narrowly avoided further jail time for the crimes because of “excellent” steps to overcome addiction
Kristel Galvin-Samie, 35, today appeared in the County Court of Victoria where she was sentenced to time already served over the sophisticated scam, which fed her profound drug and gambling addictions.
The court heard that at the height of her habit, Galvin-Samie was spending about $1,000 a day on poker machines and phone-betting apps, and was using methamphetamines and Xanax daily.
She spent 260 days behind bars while her case made its way through the courts and will now have to complete a two-year community based order and pay a $5,000 fine.
The County Court today heard that Galvin-Samie and her accomplices swindled their victims by using stolen identity documents, including drivers licenses and Working with Children cards, then defrauding the banks.
Judge Michael McInerney said Galvin-Samie’s crimes involved “some pretty amazing criminality”.
“I was staggered to say the least … the type…
