An Australian fish and chip shop owner has been convicted of swindling customers out of nearly $300,000.
On Friday, Tim Brosnan, the owner of Tally Ho Fisherman's Wharf in Melbourne, was convicted of obtaining financial advantage by deception after charging customers AU$282,533 (NZ$299,160) across 38 transactions, reports The Age.
The large charges, which were manually entered into the store's Eftpos machine, took place over four weeks in 2016, reports Herald Sun.
One customer complained after checking their bank statement and finding they had been charged $10,000 by the shop in August 2016. But after calling the store, Brosnan refused to pay it back. Police were alerted after another customer was charged $7000 and $8000.
Brosnan then withdrew $200,000 to pay for lawyers to defend him on other charges that he was on bail for. He was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2017 for taking nearly $2 million from a previous employer with another man in 2010 and 2011.
For the fish and chip store scheme, which he pleaded guilty to, Brosnan was sentenced to two more years in prison. His lawyer, Rahmin de Krester, said it was a final attempt by a man to avoid the consequences of his actions.
He was described in a psychologist's report as having "features of a narcissistic and antisocial disorder", but did not have a mental illness.
All his victims have had their money refunded by their banks.
Newshub.
