Launderer sentenced

A 62-YEAR-OLD woman who was a victim then became complicit in a money-laundering scheme has faced court.

Florence Christine Taylor pleaded guilty in the Toowoomba District Court to engaging in money laundering between August and November 2019.

The court was told Taylor had a Malaysian boyfriend she met online, and he had deposited $11,080 into her account over the four month period.

Crown prosecutor Shontelle Petrie told the court the money was laundered through being withdrawn from Malaysian ATMs, or through withdrawals or transfers made by Taylor.

“While the offending is undoubtedly serious, and it is important to acknowledge Taylor must have known or should have known that this money was derived from illegal activity, it is clear on the Crown brief that there are some features personal to Taylor that reduce her moral culpability,” Ms Petrie said.

The court was told Taylor’s bank records show her only other source of income was from the public trust and that she would have been a “prime target for someone to use to launder money”, Ms Petrie said.

“(She) had been warned previously (by police), despite that she did engage in this activity but of course that needs to be balanced against her vulnerability and otherwise blameless existence,” Ms Petrie said.

Taylor’s barrister Shane MacDonald told the court his client had a “good work history” until she was diagnosed with serious mental health issues at the age of 40, which was when the public trust began to assist her with her finances.

“It’s an unfortunate situation where Taylor herself has become a victim of a scam and unfortunately then become complicit in the ongoing scheme,” Mr MacDonald said.

The court was told Taylor had the support of family moving forward to help prevent her falling for similar scams in the future.

Judge Alexander Horneman-Wren SC said money laundering was a serious offence, but that many people in the community “through no fault of their own” became vulnerable and got drawn into offending by “people with criminal intent”.

“You were drawn into this offending. I’m not going to burden you with having a conviction against your name,” the judge said. Taylor was sentenced to nine months probation.