A carer from Berkeley who stole more than $88,000 from a disabled woman she was supposed to be helping has successfully appealed the severity of her original jail sentence.
'Abhorrent' Betrayal of Trust
Carly Maree Collier, 37, appeared before the Wollongong District Court on December 4 to challenge the four-year prison term handed down for her crimes. The court heard how Collier had befriended a physically disabled and vulnerable woman in October 2024, offering to clean her Windang cabin and assist with daily tasks for $50 per day.
Over subsequent months, Collier and her boyfriend – a co-accused in the case – visited daily, bringing groceries and showing affection. They eventually gained enough trust to be given a spare key to the victim's home.
Systematic Fraud Uncovered
The victim's suspicions were first raised when she noticed personal items, including a handbag containing her passport, were missing or had been moved. Collier reassured her she must have simply forgotten where she placed them.
In reality, between October and December 2024, Collier had accessed the victim's banking app and made 128 separate transfers totalling $88,505 to herself. Her co-accused allegedly received over $26,000 from the scheme.
The first three transfers were brazenly referenced as 'holiday', 'renovation', and 'hair', while the remaining 125 were simply labelled 'x'. The largest single transaction was $5,000, but the most taken in one day was $7,300 across eight transfers.
The fraud was discovered on December 9, 2024, when the victim visited her bank and found $152,655 had been drained from her inheritance. Police later uncovered fraudulent documents where Collier had attempted to sign a further $164,000 over to herself.
Wider Crime Spree and Sentencing
The court was told this fraud preceded a wider crime spree in early 2025, which included shoplifting designer perfumes and sunglasses from Shellharbour stores and breaking into a Port Kembla industrial site to steal phones and laptops.
Appearing via audio-visual link from prison, Collier told the court she was "disgusted" by her actions and that custody had been a "circuit breaker". She expressed a desire to repay the victim.
Judge Andrew Haesler condemned Collier's "abhorrent betrayal" of a vulnerable person, stating she had found "rock bottom". He noted the profound breach of trust, saying, "Let's be real, given you took advantage of a person you cared for, it's going to be very hard for anyone to trust you again."
However, Judge Haesler agreed to vary the sentence for "this terrible crime". Collier's head sentence was reduced from four years to three years and six months. Her non-parole period was cut to one year and 11 months.
This makes her eligible for release on February 16, 2027, which is seven months earlier than under her original sentence.
