Belinda Gae Billings drops Wagga District Court appeal over credit card fraud jail sentence

Belinda Gae Billings, 38, of Mount Austin, was jailed for five months earlier this year for two counts of dishonestly causing financial disadvantage by deception via using a stolen credit card at Wagga service stations.

BIllings was also sentenced for the larceny of $79.85 worth of beauty products and groceries from Coles supermarket at Sturt Mall and $563.87 worth of jackets and sweaters from Wagga Myer.

Billings appeared in Wagga District Court on Tuesday via video link from Dillwynia Women's Correctional Centre but her solicitor advised Judge Julia Baly that he would be withdrawing the appeal.

"Very well, the learned magistrate's orders do stand," Judge Baly said.

According to a police statement of facts, a Wagga man's credit card and other items were stolen from his Kincaid Street home some time between 5pm on December 24 and 9.50pm on December 27 while he was away for Christmas.

Billings was not accused of the burglary but on December 27 at 6.48pm she entered the Northend Caltex service station on Fitzmaurice Street with the victim's stolen credit card.

Billings used the card to purchase a $100 voucher for the payment platform Neosurf, which uses a PIN rather than cards or account names to pay for online purchases.

At 7.14pm on the same evening, Billings attended that same Ampol Foodary store located at the intersection of Edward Street and Docker Street.

Billings approached the counter and purchased a $50 Neosurf voucher using the victim's stolen credit card.

The victim reported to the matter to police when he returned home to Wagga at 10pm on December 27.

On January 27, police obtained a statement from the victim and a list of fraudulent transactions.

Police attended the Caltex and Ampol service stations and obtained security camera footage and receipts related to both Neosurf purchases.

Billings was clearly depicted in the footage in both stores making purchases with the victim's stolen credit card while wearing a black singlet top, black shorts and a pair of black thongs.

Billings was identified by three tattoos visible in the footage: 'F--- the System' on her right arm, 'F--- the Police' on her left arm and a tattoo symbol on her left ankle.

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Police later arrested Billings on Peter Street in Wagga on July 7 and she declined to take part in an electronically recorded interview.

Billings was arrested the day after leaving Wagga's Myer department store without paying for three Champion brand sweat tops, one adidas sweat top and three Tommy Hilfiger tops.

Billings fled the store via the escalator while saying "you can't touch me" after the store's manager asked to see inside her shopping cart.

Prior to that incident, Billings was spotted on April 28 by a Coles loss prevention officer taking a shopping bag through the Sturt Mall supermarket's self-serve checkout without paying for most of her items.

Billings was stopped and searched by plain clothes police officers after leaving the supermarket and admitted to knowing she had not paid for all her items.

Billings's original release from jail was scheduled in early December due to her sentenced being backdated to the date of her second arrest.

Wagga Local Court Magistrate Christopher Halburd jailed Billings for a minimum of four months in 2021 for separate charges of larceny and break and enter after she found a hotel key and used it to steal items from a room.

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