A Mangerton man accused of befriending a disabled, elderly neighbour then defrauding him of more than $5,000 has been refused bail, with a magistrate labelling his alleged conduct "reprehensible".
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Police will allege Christopher Tanevski spent months developing a friendship with the 79-year-old man, who is deaf, has a cognitive impairment and suffers from arthritis that largely prevents him from leaving his house.
The relationship got to a point where Tanevski was trusted by the alleged victim to use his credit card to purchase groceries on the man's behalf.
However, police will allege Tanevski used the elderly man's bank accounts as his own personal slush fund and withdrew a total of $5,675 without permission in 23 separate transactions between May and September this year.
The man told police he'd been left almost penniless by the alleged fraud, was now thousands of dollars behind in paying his bills and lived in fear he would be evicted from his home.
Tanevski denied the allegations when he was arrested and charged with two counts fo fraud on Thursday, claiming all the cash withdrawals were legitimate.
He fronted Wollongong Local Court on Friday and sought release on bail, but Magistrate Claire Girotto refused to grant the application, noting Tanevski had a lengthy criminal history and was currently on parole for other matters.
On the face of it, this is reprehensible conduct. He's absolutely going to jail if he's found guilty
- Magistrate Claire Girotto
"It's the worst type [of dishonesty] you can do if the offences are made out," she said.
"He befriends an elderly, vulnerable victim then rips them off. It's a classic nursing home rip off.
"On the face of it, this is reprehensible conduct. He's absolutely going to jail if he's found guilty."
Court documents reveal the withdrawals occurred predominantly at Woolworths and Coles stores in Wollongong and Figtree, often after Tanevski had purchased groceries for the victim. Others occurred at ATMs, some of which were caught on camera.
The smallest withdrawal was $50, while the largest was $500, police claim.
Police will allege one of Tanevski's other neighbours was with him when one of the withdrawals took place. That man confronted Tanevski, who allegedly told him the victim "lends me money".
Tanevski repeated that story upon his arrest, telling police the man lends him money and he pays it back - a claim the victim strongly denied.
The case will return to court next month.
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