Police allege Wollongong man was head of fraud syndicate

A man will appear in Wollongong court charged with fraud. Photo: NSW Courts.

Police allege a Wollongong man was at the head of a criminal syndicate that allegedly defrauded a bank of more than a quarter of a million dollars.

A NSW Police spokesperson said Strike Force Acned was established in July 2024 to investigate an alleged large-scale fraud syndicate in the Illawarra and Sydney regions.

“Following inquiries, at about 8:20 am on Tuesday (1 October), officers attached to Wollongong Police District executed a search warrant at a unit in Atchison Street, Wollongong,” the NSW Police spokesperson said.

“Officers arrested a 33-year-old male and took him to Wollongong Police Station.

“He was charged with 17 offences. They included; participating in a criminal group and contributing criminal activity, two counts of dishonestly obtaining property by deception, five counts of dealing with identity information to commit an indictable offence, recklessly dealing with proceeds of crime worth more than $5000, four counts of using a false document to obtain property, three counts of using a false document to obtain financial advantage and failing to comply digital evidence access order direction.

“He was refused bail to appear in Wollongong Local Court.”

Police will allege in court the man was the leading figure of the syndicate which allegedly fraudulently obtained in excess of $250,000 from a bank by using allegedly stolen ID information and allegedly making unauthorised payments and transfers.