Contractor allegedly tampered with road fines, charges laid
Written by admin on July 11, 2024
Investigators believe up to 2500 Victorian traffic fines could have been tampered with by the employee of a third party contractor.
Tyler Garth is facing 292 charges related to her time as a contractor working for Fines Victoria, the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court heard on Thursday.
Ms Garth appeared in court for a filing hearing shortly after 10.30am. She faces charges relating to alleged misconduct in public office, perverting the course of justice, obtaining financial advantage by deception, and using identification information to commit an indictable offence.
According to charge sheets, Ms Garth allegedly received payment to manipulate and then reissue traffic infringements to other people, between January 2021 and February 2022.
Police will also allege Ms Garth conducted unauthorised checks of the VicRoads database and disclosed the information to other people.
The 25-year-old, from Greenvale, was interviewed and charged on July 4, after police searched a Greenvale home in late June, finding cash, designer handbags and designer jackets.
Police allegedly seized a range of electronic devices, cash, a dual-blade samurai sword and drugs.
In a statement, Victoria Police say investigations are continuing, including into those who allegedly paid to have their fines nominated to someone else.
“It’s also believed that a number of those who received the penalty notices are connected to organised crime entities including outlaw motorcycle gangs and Middle Eastern Organised Crime groups,” a spokesman said.
Called to give evidence, Detective Senior Constable Rhett Killeen said Ms Garth was working for a third party contractor dealing with fine enforcement in Victoria between February 2021 and July 2023.
Ms Garth is accused of falsely nominating in relation to “up to 2500 fines”, Senior Constable Killeen said.
The 292 charges represented multiple charges per individual fine allegedly “written off”, he said, so “charges could potentially range in the thousands” as the investigation continues.
Ms Garth’s employment was terminated in mid-2023 after her employer was contacted by Victoria Police, the court was told.
“These charges only stem from communications with two criminal associates, and only from 2021,” Senior Constable Killeen said in his evidence.
Mobile phones were being extensively analysed, the police officer said.
Defence lawyer Jacob Slucki questioned the pace at which police laid charges and disclosed the information.
“It sounds like an administration issue. The time has been needed to type the charges into the system,” Mr Slucki said.
“We’ll be drip-fed information.”
Magistrate Tara Hartnett set a committal hearing date for November 7. An application to vary Ms Garth’s bail was adjourned to July 18.
After the hearing, Ms Garth ran from the courthouse, wearing a scarf over her face – a scarf she was not wearing in court – and making contact with a cameraman who blocked her path.
Ms Garth then hid under the counter of a convenience store nearby for about 15 minutes, before bolting from the shop across the road toward oncoming traffic, pursued by a television cameraman.
