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A 25-year-old man was sentenced last week after defrauding Sydney’s Maritime Museum of more than $35,000.
A Macquarie Park IT contractor has been given a jail sentence of two years and six months after using his role with a third party to illegally access the Australian National Maritime Museum’s accounts payable systems.
The Maritime Museum first noticed irregularities in its accounts in November 2022, which was subsequently reported to the Australian Federal Police.
The AFP Eastern Command Cybercrime Operations team then identified the man, who was working as a contract IT support worker with a third-party provider at the time. The 25-year-old individual had used his access to the Maritime Museum’s systems to identify the financial details of several companies and individuals. The man then changed their bank details to his bank account.
The man spent over $20,000 on “high-powered IT equipment” and more than $15,000 on upgrades to a four-wheel drive vehicle.
The man was arrested in March 2023 and sentenced on 16 March 2024. His two-and-a-half-year sentence includes a non-parole period of 15 months. He was found guilty of one count each of unauthorised access and modification with intent to commit a serious computer offence, dishonestly obtaining or dealing in personal financial information, and dishonestly obtaining property by deception.
“This man exploited his trusted position of employment to fraudulently access and spend thousands of dollars belonging to others for his own benefit,” said AFP Detective Superintendent Tim Stainton in a statement.
“The greedy behaviour in this matter came at the expense of hard-working Australian individuals and business owners.
“Australians work hard for their money, and the AFP is working tirelessly to prevent cyber criminals from scamming, stealing and defrauding them.”
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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