Swindler ‘just couldn’t stop’
A former Commonwealth Bank business retail consultant who used inside knowledge to defraud customers out of tens of thousands of dollars was motivated by wanting to impress others and make friends online, a court has heard.
Sydney man Curtis McNulty first claimed he was threatened by people he met playing video games online.
McNulty fronted Downing District Court in Sydney for sentencing on Thursday.
The 26-year-old pleaded guilty to dishonestly obtaining personal financial information, accessing data from a carriage service, dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception and possessing identification to commit fraud.
McNulty defrauded PayPal of tens of thousands and used the inside knowledge to swindle customers through fraudulent cards and transactions in 2022, it was previously heard.
He used his work login credentials to access a customer’s details and open an account and credit card in her name, police say in court documents.
Months later, McNulty created another bank profile in a different man’s name and then made several withdrawals worth thousands of dollars from multiple Sydney ATMs, with the transactions captured by CCTV.
In court, he said he felt “absolutely disgusted” by his actions.
“I always knew what I was doing was wrong, I just couldn’t stop … I am a f---ing idiot,” he said.
The defence argued against a prison term, saying there was “real innocence and naivety about (the) offending”. Judge John Pickering reserved his judgment for a later date.