PENNIES FROM HEAVEN
Woman believed $10,000 was sent to her account by God
AN expectant mother spent thousands of dollars stolen from an elderly woman because she believed she was on a “quest from God”.
The 33-year-old splashed the $10,000 on crystals at a gem store and a cruise that she never took because it wasn’t “God’s will”.
AN expectant mother spent thousands of dollars stolen from an elderly woman because she believed she was on a “quest from God”.
Melinda Anderson splashed the holy cash on “all the crystals” in a gem store and a cruise that was never boarded because it wasn’t “God’s will”.
The 33-year-old yesterday pleaded guilty in the Southport Magistrates Court to dealing with property of $10,000 or more and being reckless to the fact it was the proceeds of a crime.
The court heard on June 9, 2015, the Upper Coomera woman received an unsolicited $10,000 in her Westpac bank account, which she believed was a “sign from God”.
The money had been fleeced from 62-year-old South Australian woman, Dorothy McConnell, who received a cold call from three scammers that gained access to her bank account by claiming they needed to install anti-scamming software on her computer.
When they had hacked her computer, a message saying “Thank you and God bless” was left typed on the screen, which caused the elderly woman to raise the alarm, the court heard. However, Ms McConnell was unable to get the $10,000 back.
The money was transferred to Anderson’s account, possibly by mistake, the court heard.
There is no allegation Anderson was involved in the scam to obtain the money, only that she benefited from it.
The court heard the way Anderson came into the money could “only be described as unique and unusual circumstances”.
Anderson was also scammed during the same period and hackers gained access to her computer by claiming to fix her Wi-Fi.
After they accessed her personal information, a similar message to the one Ms McConnell received appeared on Anderson’s screen saying: “God bless”.
The court heard a person claiming to be from a prize home draw then phoned and told Anderson: “To get ready because she was about to win a large sum of money”.
She then received another phone call where Anderson was told money would be given to her by someone named Dorothy.
“She has a close friend named Dorothy,” defence lawyer Bettina Webb said.
“Ms Anderson immediately contacted Dorothy who said ‘God does wonderful things’.
“She made a joke but Ms Anderson took it literally, as a sign from God, that the money had come to her for religious purposes.”
It wasn’t until two years later that Ms Anderson snapped out of what Ms Webb described as her “religious indoctrination” once police told her where the money had come from.
She wrote an apology letter to the victim, realising the error of her ways, the court heard.
“She held the belief that God had put her on a quest for those two years and that is why she didn’t come forward,” Ms Webb said. “She is a victim of religious indoctrination.”
Federal crown prosector Christine Wilson told the court Anderson’s misguided belief was no excuse to spend money that did not belong to her.
“This person came into $10,000 and spent it ... she took advantage of a situation,” she said.
Magistrate Andrew Sinclair sentenced Anderson to a two-year good behaviour bond. If she defaults on the bond, the 33-year-old will have to pay $2000. Magistrate Sinclair also ordered Anderson to repay the $10,000.