Austin Alfonso Redondo pleaded guilty in Bathurst Local Court to dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception

Austin Alfonso Redondo pleaded guilty in Bathurst Local Court on September 7 to dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception.

According to court documents, the 19-year-old received a message from the victim on Facebook during June last year after Redondo advertised a fallow deer hide for sale on a hunting page.

Redondo replied to the victim, who wanted to purchase the item, with his bank details and said he required more money for postage.

The court heard that the victim electronically transferred Redondo a payment of $400 to his bank account, followed by a second payment of $500 the next day.

Redondo then blocked the victim on Facebook and stopped contacting him after he received the total transferred amount of $900.

The victim reported the incident to police about 9am on July 3 and went to his local police station on a separate occasion to provide a statement regarding the incident.

Following a request for information by police, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia confirmed that Redondo held the bank account the victim transferred the funds to. The victim's payment was also confirmed by the bank.

The court heard that police went to Mitre 10 in Bathurst about 12.30pm on July 21 this year to speak with Redondo.

He confirmed to police the victim transferred the money for the items after they exchanged messages about the deer hide he had for sale on Facebook.

Redondo could not recall the amounts and was unsure what he did with the funds.

Court documents reveal that Redondo claimed to have had various personal issues arise after the victim paid for the items and threw the hides away in the process.

He also told police that he was locked out of his Facebook account and couldn't message the victim. Instead, Redondo said he tried to call the victim's partner but was unable to speak with him.

He could not provide police with the victim's partner's phone number.

During sentencing, Redondo's Aboriginal Legal Services solicitor, Ms Duncan said it was "embarrassing" for her client to be questioned by police at his workplace and that he was "having a real go".

In response, Magistrate Elizabeth Ellis explained the severity of the charge to Redondo which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

"There was a degree of you knowing you were doing the wrong thing," Magistrate Ellis said.

"How would you feel if it was the other way around?"

Redondo, who was not convicted, was ordered to pay $900 in compensation to the victim.

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