A traffic fine 'loophole' let this man scam $141k—and others paid the price
- Replies 0
A quiet Queensland town has found itself at the centre of a baffling investigation stretching back years.
What began as a seemingly small traffic matter has since unravelled into a complex case involving identity theft, deception, and hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Now, a 28-year-old man stands accused of orchestrating a scheme that’s left authorities and victims searching for answers.
A quiet town south-west of Brisbane became the unlikely backdrop to a police operation that unearthed an alleged scam targeting Queensland’s traffic fine system—one that reportedly siphoned nearly $150,000 from the state over three years.
The man at the centre of the investigation, 28-year-old Nicholas John Anforth, lived in Warwick and ran his alleged operation from the tiny nearby town of Ballandean, some 80 kilometres south of Warwick.
Authorities now accuse him of creating a business that capitalised on traffic fines, offering to take the blame—and the demerit points—for other people’s offences in exchange for cash.
Police claimed the scheme began in 2021 and grew steadily over time, all while flying under the radar of state authorities. It wasn’t until 2024 that Operation Blot—a police investigation spanning years—led to Anforth’s arrest.
For the first time, the Ipswich-born man has been publicly identified. Court documents list him as unemployed, and still on his P-plates at the time of his charges.
In addition to fraud-related charges, Anforth was also accused of driving over the no-alcohol limit on the New England Highway and breaching his bail in both September and December last year.
At the heart of the alleged scam was a seemingly simple loophole in the system. Drivers in Queensland have 28 days to transfer a fine after receiving it in the mail—for instance, for speeding or not wearing a seatbelt.
According to police, once a ‘customer’ contacted Anforth with a camera-detected fine, he would nominate himself as the driver responsible. After receiving the ticket, he would allegedly reassign it again—this time to an unsuspecting third party whose identity had been stolen.
One alleged victim reportedly contacted police after discovering $20,000 worth of fines issued in their name.
Queensland Police alleged Anforth’s illegal enterprise processed over 200 traffic offences, involving a staggering 695 demerit points and fines worth approximately $141,000.
Detective Janelle Andrews from the Queensland Police’s Road Policing Group said the charges linked to Anforth’s business highlighted just how vulnerable the system could be.
Despite the scale of the alleged operation, the government agencies involved appeared unaware of how widespread the issue had become. Queensland Police, the Department of Transport and Main Roads, and the Queensland Revenue Office all said they could not provide data on how many false nomination reports had been made by potential victims.
Court documents revealed Anforth was accused of dishonestly inducing the Queensland government to reissue photographic detection offence notices between June 2021 and August 2024.
He also faced charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice by filing a false police report and providing that report to the Queensland Revenue Office between September 2022 and March 2023.
Other offences on the charge sheet included obtaining driver licence details of a man in 2021 and 2022, allegedly for the purpose of committing an indictable offence.
He was further accused of sourcing personal information from two more individuals—one case allegedly occurred in Warwick between July and August 2024, just weeks before his arrest, and the other between April 2023 and June 2024.
Anforth has not yet entered a plea. His case remains before the Warwick Magistrates Court.
When asked about the incident, Queensland Police said they were unable to comment directly as the case was still before the court.
However, they noted that the Department of Transport and Main Roads had procedures in place for issuing new Customer Reference Numbers in substantiated identity theft cases.
‘Police investigate suspicious nominations. Making a false declaration in relation to a camera-detected infringement can result in a fine of up to $9678 or two years in jail,’ a Transport and Main Roads spokesperson said.
The Queensland Revenue Office, which administers the camera-detected offence system, was also unable to say how many individuals had reported being fraudulently nominated.
However, between July 2023 and June 2024, a total of 389,719 infringement notices were withdrawn. Of those, more than 335,000 were withdrawn after receiving a nomination indicating another driver was responsible.
More than 35,000 were linked to emergency services or police vehicles on official duty. Roughly 16,500 were withdrawn for ‘another reason’—which, according to the QRO, could include the death of the driver, declarations involving stolen vehicles or licence plates, or court proceedings.
‘In these circumstances the QRO may withdraw the infringement and reissue to the registered operator. The QRO may also refer these matters to the QPS for further investigation and prosecution,’ the department said.
Losing access to a trusted system like this raises serious questions—especially for those who discovered fines issued in their name through no fault of their own. Have you ever received a fine you knew nothing about?
Losing confidence in a system that’s meant to protect everyday drivers is unsettling—especially when innocent people are left footing the bill for someone else’s deception. Have you ever been held responsible for something you didn’t do?
While this case focused on identity theft and traffic fines, it’s not the only scam catching unsuspecting Aussies off guard.
Another sneaky scheme has been tricking drivers with fake parking fines—slipped right under their wipers.
If you’ve ever second-guessed a fine on your windscreen, you’re not alone.
Read more: Shocking Fake Parking Fines Plague Motorists – Is This A Rising Scam?
What began as a seemingly small traffic matter has since unravelled into a complex case involving identity theft, deception, and hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Now, a 28-year-old man stands accused of orchestrating a scheme that’s left authorities and victims searching for answers.
A quiet town south-west of Brisbane became the unlikely backdrop to a police operation that unearthed an alleged scam targeting Queensland’s traffic fine system—one that reportedly siphoned nearly $150,000 from the state over three years.
The man at the centre of the investigation, 28-year-old Nicholas John Anforth, lived in Warwick and ran his alleged operation from the tiny nearby town of Ballandean, some 80 kilometres south of Warwick.
Authorities now accuse him of creating a business that capitalised on traffic fines, offering to take the blame—and the demerit points—for other people’s offences in exchange for cash.
Police claimed the scheme began in 2021 and grew steadily over time, all while flying under the radar of state authorities. It wasn’t until 2024 that Operation Blot—a police investigation spanning years—led to Anforth’s arrest.
For the first time, the Ipswich-born man has been publicly identified. Court documents list him as unemployed, and still on his P-plates at the time of his charges.
In addition to fraud-related charges, Anforth was also accused of driving over the no-alcohol limit on the New England Highway and breaching his bail in both September and December last year.
At the heart of the alleged scam was a seemingly simple loophole in the system. Drivers in Queensland have 28 days to transfer a fine after receiving it in the mail—for instance, for speeding or not wearing a seatbelt.
According to police, once a ‘customer’ contacted Anforth with a camera-detected fine, he would nominate himself as the driver responsible. After receiving the ticket, he would allegedly reassign it again—this time to an unsuspecting third party whose identity had been stolen.
One alleged victim reportedly contacted police after discovering $20,000 worth of fines issued in their name.
Queensland Police alleged Anforth’s illegal enterprise processed over 200 traffic offences, involving a staggering 695 demerit points and fines worth approximately $141,000.
Detective Janelle Andrews from the Queensland Police’s Road Policing Group said the charges linked to Anforth’s business highlighted just how vulnerable the system could be.
Despite the scale of the alleged operation, the government agencies involved appeared unaware of how widespread the issue had become. Queensland Police, the Department of Transport and Main Roads, and the Queensland Revenue Office all said they could not provide data on how many false nomination reports had been made by potential victims.
Court documents revealed Anforth was accused of dishonestly inducing the Queensland government to reissue photographic detection offence notices between June 2021 and August 2024.
He also faced charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice by filing a false police report and providing that report to the Queensland Revenue Office between September 2022 and March 2023.
Other offences on the charge sheet included obtaining driver licence details of a man in 2021 and 2022, allegedly for the purpose of committing an indictable offence.
He was further accused of sourcing personal information from two more individuals—one case allegedly occurred in Warwick between July and August 2024, just weeks before his arrest, and the other between April 2023 and June 2024.
Anforth has not yet entered a plea. His case remains before the Warwick Magistrates Court.
When asked about the incident, Queensland Police said they were unable to comment directly as the case was still before the court.
However, they noted that the Department of Transport and Main Roads had procedures in place for issuing new Customer Reference Numbers in substantiated identity theft cases.
‘Police investigate suspicious nominations. Making a false declaration in relation to a camera-detected infringement can result in a fine of up to $9678 or two years in jail,’ a Transport and Main Roads spokesperson said.
The Queensland Revenue Office, which administers the camera-detected offence system, was also unable to say how many individuals had reported being fraudulently nominated.
However, between July 2023 and June 2024, a total of 389,719 infringement notices were withdrawn. Of those, more than 335,000 were withdrawn after receiving a nomination indicating another driver was responsible.
More than 35,000 were linked to emergency services or police vehicles on official duty. Roughly 16,500 were withdrawn for ‘another reason’—which, according to the QRO, could include the death of the driver, declarations involving stolen vehicles or licence plates, or court proceedings.
‘In these circumstances the QRO may withdraw the infringement and reissue to the registered operator. The QRO may also refer these matters to the QPS for further investigation and prosecution,’ the department said.
Losing access to a trusted system like this raises serious questions—especially for those who discovered fines issued in their name through no fault of their own. Have you ever received a fine you knew nothing about?
Losing confidence in a system that’s meant to protect everyday drivers is unsettling—especially when innocent people are left footing the bill for someone else’s deception. Have you ever been held responsible for something you didn’t do?
While this case focused on identity theft and traffic fines, it’s not the only scam catching unsuspecting Aussies off guard.
Another sneaky scheme has been tricking drivers with fake parking fines—slipped right under their wipers.
If you’ve ever second-guessed a fine on your windscreen, you’re not alone.
Read more: Shocking Fake Parking Fines Plague Motorists – Is This A Rising Scam?
