AN Orange handyman with a criminal history that included deception has defrauded a hotel owner of more than $7000.
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Brett James Whitely was trading under the business name of Mason Maintenance when he was employed as a contractor for an Orange hotel earlier this year.
Police facts tendered to Orange Local Court said, the 41-year-old, Noreen Place resident, was asked by the hotel owners to purchase some UHF radios.
He told them he had ordered $120 worth and the money was deposited into the account he had provided the owners.
However the radios never arrived.
Later, he was asked to replace locks on all of the doors in the hotel and he quoted the owners $7300 for about 70 locks.
Once again the money was deposited by the owners.
After the transaction, Whiteley text messaged the owners and told them he could not work due to health reasons and he stopped answering their calls and returning messages.
The owners told police they continuously attempted to contact him and as a last resort they visited his home.
They told his wife that if he did not contact them within three days they would report the matter to the police.
Police obtained bank statements for Whiteley’s wife’s bank account which showed the deposits made by the hotel owners but there were no transactions which could be linked to the purchase of radios or locks.
Whitely told them he had ordered the radios from an unknown company and could not provide any further details.
He did not attend Orange Local Court on Thursday and instead wrote a letter.
Magistrate Terry Lucas, fined him $2000 for two charges of obtaining financial advantage by dishonesty and he ordered him to repay $7420 to the hotel.
Whitely had a criminal history that included a previous charge of obtaining money by deception for which he was given a good behaviour bond.