A Riverside man fabricated a "sad and sorry story" because of a misunderstanding of insurance processes that landed him in serious trouble.
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Nathan Mark Taylor, 28, pleaded guilty to one count of making a statutory declaration and false statements and one count of attempting to dishonestly acquire a financial advantage.
Defence counsel Grant Tucker said the outcome had cost Taylor dearly, including an opportunity to work on Christmas Island constructing facilities for coronavirus victims.
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The Launceston Magistrates court heard that Taylor's action had unleashed a chain of events affecting his family and neighbours. It began when Taylor's Ford Ranger utility was stolen in Mowbray.
"He believed that because he left the keys in the ignition that the insurance company would not pay his claim," Mr Tucker said.
"So he then invented a story that his [Riverside] house was broken into and that his car was stolen while he was away for the weekend."
Taylor signed a statutory declaration saying that his utility, work tools and a laptop had been stolen while he was away.
"He was caught in a lie and it just got bigger and bigger," Mr Tucker said in mitigation.
Police prosecutor Mike Bonde said that police quickly identified inconsistencies in his story and door knocked neighbours and obtained CCTV footage which showed Taylor coming and going all weekend.
Under warrant police raided Taylor's home and found the Makita power tools, a laptop and a mobile phone which Taylor had made a false insurance claim for.
They also found drugs, a glass smoking pipe, a .22 rifle and ammunition.
He pleaded guilty to possession charges.
The court heard that Taylor had attempted to dishonestly acquire a financial advantage of $22,000 in relation to the insurance claim.
Mr Tucker told Magistrate Sharon Cure that the the events had caused neighbours to look sideways at him. She convicted Taylor and fined him $1000 .
"You created a web of lies which turned out badly," she said.