Boot-scooting tricksters, accused of fleecing dancers of life savings, waltz free on bail
A father and son accused of ripping off hundreds of thousands of dollars from boot scooters in a line dancing holiday scam have been released from custody.
A father and son are accused of fleecing Queensland line dancing enthusiasts of hundreds of thousands of dollars (file image).
Bruce John Jenkins, 68, and Brett Robert Jenkins – who face more than 300 charges each – successfully applied for bail during their committal hearing in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
Brett Jenkins, 39, who ran line dancing classes across Brisbane is accused of defrauding 303 victims of money paid to attend trips and tours.
He was assisted in his business by his father who was also involved in the line dancing community, the court heard.
The pair went missing in 2019 after arrest warrants were issued.
In May last year they were identified on CCTV after taking measures like changing outfits when going into shopping centres to avoid detection, the court was told.
Police said earlier the men also put on weight and grew beards and long hair to change their appearance.
The prosecution opposed bail, raising concerns the men would fail to appear and Brett Jenkins would re-offend.
Their analysis of his betting accounts found a turnover of more than $700,000 suggesting he was on the crown case “a significant gambler”, magistrate Peter Saggers said
There may be some contest about the sum of the alleged fraud, with the defence obtaining an expert to conduct their own analysis in response to that determined by the prosecution’s forensic accountant.
Mr Saggers released the men on bail saying he was satisfied conditions could be put in place to ameliorate the risks.
The pair are required to live at a Morningside house, report to police daily and wear a tracking device.
Brett Jenkins cannot download or have any gambling application on his phone or attend any venue where gambling is allowed.
Both men allegedly built up trust in the line dancing community over 15 years of participating in events, police said earlier.
They are accused of taking payments for trips to bogus line dancing festivals, boat cruises, balls and overseas holidays before disappearing.
The payments were allegedly swindled from hundreds of mostly elderly line dancers.
“For quite a lot of these victims, it was a trip of a lifetime and it was their life savings,” Detective Senior Sergeant Ken Rogers said at the time of the men’s arrest.
After their legal representatives agreed on Wednesday there was a case for both men to answer, Mr Saggers committed the duo to face the Brisbane District Court on a date yet to decided.
-AAP
