APY Mintabie store owner fined for taking $1m from customers’ accounts through book-up scheme

A store owner in South Australia’s remote APY Lands has been fined $167,500 for withdrawing almost $1 million from the accounts of local residents.

The Federal Court previously found the owner of Nobby’s Mintabie General Store, Lindsay Gordon Kobelt, had withdrawn the money from the accounts of 85 customers between July 2010 and November 2012.

It was told Kobelt used an informal credit system known as ‘book-up’ that allows people to buy goods on the spot and pay later by providing their account information.

Nobby’s also sold cars and customers had used the book-up arrangement for purchase of second-hand vehicles.

Kobelt had each customer’s bank debit card and PIN details and used EFTPOS machines to access the accounts, withdrawing wages or Centrelink benefits about the time they went into the accounts.

Corporate regulator ASIC found Kobelt failed to keep good records of what customers owed him and made deductions well in excess of what people had spent.

Source: APY Mintabie store owner fined for taking $1m from customers’ accounts through book-up scheme – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)