NSW man ordered to repay $7.5k after trading fake gold bars for e-bike
A New South Wales man has been ordered to repay $7,500 and serve a two-year community correction order for trading fake gold bars for an electric mountain bike. The 40-year-old, who has a history of similar offences, had been dealing with addiction and significant debt at the time of the offending.
A 40-year-old man from New South Wales has been ordered to repay $7,500 and serve a two-year community correction order for trading fake gold bars for an electric mountain bike.
David Robert Meade appeared before Batemans Bay Local Court after pleading guilty to one count of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception.
In November 2023, Meade contacted a man selling an electric mountain bike for $7,500 on Facebook Marketplace and asked to trade the bike for three gold bullions.
Meade met the victim at their house the next day in Batemans Bay, bringing with him three gold bars in separate cases.
Court documents state each of the bars had a serial number and were branded with "Credit Suisse".
After the victim weighed each of the bars, which all came in as one ounce each, the trade was made and Meade left with an electric Norco Sight mountain bike.
The court heard Meade is currently on parole for a previous offence of a similar nature.
In January 2024, the victim contacted Meade asking for the gold's authentication papers but he never received a response.
The victim kept the bars in a safe until November 2025, when he saw a social media post that identified Meade as someone who had previously sold fake gold bullion.
The victim then brought the gold to the police, where it was determined that the bars were fake.
Meade's lawyer speaks about his client's struggles
Meade's lawyer, Vanya Hampel, said that Meade was dealing with a methamphetamine and opioid addiction at the time of the offending and had "significant debts to drug dealers".
She went on to say that since being released from custody, he had completed his own rehab and was engaging in treatment, and he had found stable housing.
Judge comments on Meade's progress
During sentencing, Judge Doug Dick acknowledged that he was part of Meade's previous sentencing but that the "man I'm looking at today is not the same desperate man I was looking at before".
The now-Queanbeyan local was given a two-year community corrections order and ordered to pay back the cost of the bike and a $1,500 fine.