A Sydney man caught with nearly $20,000 in cash in Wodonga has finally admitted to dealing with the suspected proceeds of crime more than two years after his arrest.
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Saad Samad was arrested at Wodonga Plaza on May 26, 2017, and was found with $19,984 on him.
He was charged, along with two other men, with defrauding bank customers using skimmed banking information.
The 49-year-old Sydney man finally pleaded guilty to a single charge in the Wodonga Magistrates Court recently, relating to the seized cash, leading to five other charges being dropped.
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The court heard Samad was a problem gambler and couldn't explain where the money came from.
Lawyer Paul McGirr said he had won $800,000 at the Sydney casino, but was now in a much worse financial position.
"Poker machines aren't designed for the player to win in the long term," he said.
"I've never met a gambler who's won from gambling."
The court heard he had been left unable to work following a serious assault, and was receiving Centrelink payments.
Samad was placed on a corrections order and had the seized money forfeited.
Mr McGirr said losing such a large amount of money would be significant for Samad, and noted it was similar to being fined.
