Simone Selkirk used to be the director of a highly renowned Sydney law firm but had to stop practicing after committing fraud.
Yes, a lawyer was caught committing fraud.
The Sydney lawyer faced a lawsuit in 2019 by David Jones when she returned $16,000 worth of goods to the luxury store.
Her law firm was Marc1. It used to offer many kinds of services to its clients including company secretarial services, immigration services, due diligence and more.
But all of that ended after she pleaded guilty to fraud in court.
After all, it’s very difficult for a lawyer to market themselves when everyone knows they have admitted to being a fraudster in court.
So, what did she do?
Well, this “renowned” lawyer thought it would be great to scam a luxury store by using refunds.
Court documentation reveals that she visited multiple David Jones stores and asked for refunds on their different products. She would return the product but wouldn’t give them a genuine receipt.
“Simone Selkirk Cost Us $16,000” – David Jones
David Jones alleged in its lawsuit that she was using fake receipts to defraud their locations.
Previously, she had provided the store’s staff with a certain proof of purchase number which she had created herself.
The number helped her convince the poor staff of those stores who had no idea they were dealing with a fraudster. They must have thought, “She is a lawyer, she wouldn’t lie”. (ironic)
Still, it didn’t help her case one bit.
The prosecutor told the media that some of those goods were Country Road-brand clothing.
Also, she had returned a lot of “sheets”. Yuck.
Additional court documents reveal that Simone Selkirk asked for refunds on 31 occasions over a span of 3 years.
In fact, she made 12 returns within 7 days in 2018.
While the authorities had charged with criminal offenses, they dropped the charges as the proceedings went on.
During all of this, her lawyer argued that Simone didn’t get any “advantage” for returning those $16,000 worth of goods.
In my opinion, that lawyer sounded like Amber Heard’s lawyer, raising points that only make his client look bad.
I mean, it’s obvious what the “advantage” was.
Simone Selkirk was using new products and returning them to get another new product.
Maybe she was getting bored of stuff and thought to herself one day, “What if I return this sheet and get a new without paying for it?”
But I can never understand how she came up with the whole “manufacturing a fake purchase number” process.
That requires a methodical approach and only a lawyer can come up with it.
Still, fraud is fraud.
Eventually, she admitted guilt although she had maintained she was not guilty throughout the proceedings.
According to the Magistrate, Simone Selkirk is a “worldly and intelligent” woman who used her knowledge of law to run a scam. Also, the magistrate added that he knew Simone was not content with how the proceedings happened nor was she happy with her plea of being guilty.
The fraud was of goods worth over $16,000.
Simone Selkirk is a Fashion Designer Now
According to online articles I found on Simone Selkirk, she has now become a fashion designer.
Considering she committed fraud related to a fashion brand, I find it ironic that she has now become a fashion designer herself.
Still, it was an interesting story. I couldn’t believe a high-end lawyer could commit such a petty crime.
Defrauding a luxury brand for $16,000 worth of goods through a meticulous scheme of forgery and deceit is horrible. Clearly, she knows a lot about law but can no longer use it.
No person would work with a fraudster after all.
