A Facebook Marketplace deal turned into an expensive scam when a man used fake "Credit Suisse" gold bars to obtain a $7,500 electric mountain bike.
Here's what to know
ABC News reported that 40-year-old David Robert Meade pleaded guilty to a deception offense linked to a Batemans Bay swap involving three counterfeit gold bars and an electric Norco Sight mountain bike.
Court documents said Meade kept each bar in its own case and marked it with both a serial number and "Credit Suisse" branding. Meade offered the bars in November 2023 after contacting a Facebook Marketplace seller and proposing to trade them for the e-bike.
The seller proceeded with the deal after each bar weighed one ounce, then handed over the bike.
The victim asked Meade for paperwork in January 2024 to confirm the gold was genuine but got no response.
They kept the bars locked in a safe until November 2025, when a social media post named Meade as someone who had sold fake gold bullion. Police took the bars and found they were counterfeit.
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The court heard Meade had been released from custody and was on parole for a similar offense. His lawyer, Vanya Hampel, said he was dealing with methamphetamine and opioid addiction and had "significant debts to drug dealers."
Hampel said Meade, who now lives in Queanbeyan, had completed rehab, remained in treatment, and secured stable housing.
Rather than imposing another prison sentence, Batemans Bay Local Court gave Meade a two-year community corrections order and directed him to repay the value of the bike and pay a $1,500 fine.
Judge Doug Dick said the "man I'm looking at today is not the same desperate man I was looking at before".
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