by Cam Lucadou-Wells
A long-term drug addict from Officer who tried to steal $669,000 from a South East family plumbing business has avoided “almost inevitable” jail due to his promising steps to reform.
Joshua Fa’oliu, 39, pleaded guilty at the Victorian County Court to writing 18 unauthorised cheques and trying to obtain three loans using stolen ID details.
In September 2020, a car was stolen from the victims’ home.
Inside the vehicle were account details and passwords for business accounts as well as personal IDs.
Despite the plumber cancelling his bank cards, within three days he discovered $669,000 had been removed from his business account via unauthorised cheques.
The cheques were made out by Fa’oliu to several people in Pakenham and Officer over several hours that morning.
None of the cheques were cashed, and the money was fully recovered by the plumber.
On the same day, Fa’oliu applied for three online loans totalling $11,200 using one of the victim’s stolen personal details. All three loans were declined.
In sentencing on 11 April, judge Gerard Mullaly noted the “very considerable” impact on the victims, who worried about being made potentially insolvent.
The crimes were persistent, sophisticated and involved a large amount of money, the judge said.
He took into account the accused’s lengthy priors spanning 92 charges in 17 years, including driving, weapons, drug and violent offences.
It was “explained by intense drug addiction that blighted your life for decades and up to recent times”, Mullaly said.
Fa’oliu had also previously breached seven community corrections orders.
However there had been a recent “circuit breaker” – time in remand followed by a 13-month drug treatment order at the Drug Court in 2021.
Since then, he’d successfully gone to residential drug rehab, where he’d risen to a leadership role.
He was still checking in for weekly drug tests and group sessions, had found full-time work and removed himself from his previous associates.
Judge Mullaly said Fa’oliu had used the delay in his court matter to “genuinely rehabilitate” and “break the cycle” of drugs, offending and jail.
It created a “real tension” between the “almost inevitable” jail time due to the gravity of Fa’oliu’s crimes and the benefits of continuing his rehabilitation.
Sending him back to jail and under the influence of other prisoners could undermine his commitment, Judge Mullaly said. Prison time often begets more prison time, he noted.
Instead the judge opted for a “lengthy” and “onerous” community corrections order that was “no mere slap on the wrist” and would keep Fa’oliu under supervision for years.
He was put on a four year community corrections order including 300 hours of unpaid work as well as drug treatment and offender programs.
