Simone Selkirk – $16,000 Fraud with David Jones and Lawsuit

Simone Selkirk was the director of a boutique Sydney law firm and had a particular liking for fashion. However, she faced a lawsuit in 2019 when she returned $16,000 worth of goods to David Jones across the city by using deceptive tactics. 

Simone Selkirk used to run the Marc1 law firm. Marc1 used to offer various legal services to its clients including immigration services, company secretarial services, corporate advisory, due diligence, and plenty others. 

She faced charges of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception over multiple transactions with David Jones between November 2015 and August 2018. 

According to the plaintiff, Simone Selkirk had visited different David Jones stores and asked for refunds for various products by returning them without providing them with genuine receipts. 

In other words, she was allegedly using fake receipts to defraud David Jones stores. 

In a previously agreed upon set of facts, she provided the staff of the stores with a particular proof of purchase number. She had created this number herself. 

By using that number, Simone Selkirk was able to convince the store staff to transfer the value of the item onto her credit card. 

The court document said, “It is this conduct that is dishonest”. 

Stuart Coote, the public prosecutor handling the case said that some of those goods included Country Road-brand clothing and “a lot of sheets”. 

How Simone Selkirk Performed This Scam:

According to court documents, Simone had asked for refunds on 31 occasions over a span of 3 years. This included a phase where she made 12 returns of goods worth around $6300 on 7 different days in 2018. 

The police arrested the high-profile lawyer in October. She got bail on the condition she will never enter any David Jones stores. 

The proceedings came full circle in 2019. Initially, she tried to challenge the charges but plead guilty on the day her case was going to be set down for hearing. 

Originally, the authorities had charged her with proceeds of crime offenses but they dropped them later on. 

What Simone Selkirk’s Lawyer Said on the David Jones Fashion Case:

Al Karim, Simone Selkirk’s lawyer, argued that even though his client admitted to creating fraudulent receipts which she had given to David Jones stores, it didn’t give any advantage to the store because they were like-for-like transactions. 

He also said that the stores didn’t suffer any losses and the only advantage his client, Simone Selkirk, gained was the reduction of liability. 

Mr. Barko, the magistrate handling the case, asked if Simone Selkirk could prove “on the balance of probabilities that she bought any of those goods”. 

In response, her lawyer said the prosecution needed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the “advantage” she obtained was $16,000. 

Although the case was set down for sentence on June 21, 2018, Simone applied to reverse her guilty plea a few days before. This suggested that she was seeking new legal advice. 

According to the Downing Center, Simone had maintained that she was not guilty all the time. However, she did not want a hearing. So, she changed her plea. 

What the Magistrate Said on The Simone Selkirk David Jones Case:

In accepting her about-face, the magistrate said that Simone was a worldly and intelligent woman who used her own knowledge of the law to contribute to the proceedings. 

He further added that he sensed she was not content with the way the proceedings were taking place. Also, he felt as if she was not content with the plea of guilty being entered. 

However, he also said that he thought something was amiss when he read through the facts of the case. 

Mr Barko said that the basis of his concern was the alleged transactions Simone Selkirk conducted with David Jones. She obtained clothing from the store and returned it for a credit on her credit card later. 

He wondered about the benefit and losses taking place in these transactions. 

Also, the magistrate found it curious that she had made returns of goods worth $16,000 on a regular basis. 

Conclusion: Where is She Now? 

There is not much information available any more on the “Simone Selkirk David Jones” case. However, when you look up her name, you see the name of a new fashion designer pop up. 

Maybe, Simone has quit law and has now become a fashion designer? 

There’s a good possibility that she lost her license to practice law because of this case and has now switched industries. 

In any case, this lawsuit will always remain one of the most mysterious and peculiar cases in Sydney.