A 25 year-old Aussie bloke who was accidentally permitted to withdraw $2.1 million from one of the country’s biggest banks has had his conviction overturned.
Luke Brett Moore from Goulburn had an absolute riot of a time when, in 2010, his St. George bank account suddenly allowed him to withdraw bucketloads of cash, even though he only had $441 worth of Centrelink payments available.
His shopping spree is akin to what you would expect Tony Montana from Scarface to purchase, were he not a fictional character. Moore bought a $91,000 Aston Martin, a 2001 Maserati sedan worth a cool $168,948 and a Sea Hawk power boat, as well as embarking on a classic signed photograph rampage.
By the end of his haul, he had the autographs of Usher, Guns ‘N’ Roses, Kylie Minogue, and the presenters of Top Gear, as well as a signed Michael Jordan t-shirt.
Moore’s place was raided in 2012, and the cops seized all of his priceless memorabilia along with an additional $1.1 million in separate bank accounts. In February 2015, he was convicted by a jury for fraud and obtaining financial benefit by deceiving the bank.
“The unusual aspect of Mr Moore’s conduct was that there was nothing covert about it,” said Justice Leeming. The bank records also show “with complete accuracy Mr Moore’s growing indebtedness.”
After five months in prison, Moore was released on bail, and today, he was finally acquitted by the NSW Criminal Court of Appeal. While the judge definitely thought that Moore had acted like a bitova clown (and of course has to pay all the money back), there was no real proof that he ever consciously intended to deceive the bank.
So, there you have it.
And as far as Moore’s plans now that he’s officially an innocent man?
“I’m just looking forward to finishing my degree, getting a job, a hot missus and my own house, and I’ll be good to go from there.”
Photo: Luke Brett Moore / Facebook.
