Two men are set to appear in court on Thursday charged over an elaborate $2.2 million Sydney e-tag scam.
They are two of the three men arrested in May this year in the Sydney suburbs of Smithfield, Blacktown and Punchbowl.
The trio is accused of circulating 870 fake tags across five years, most of which were sold to taxi drivers.
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Financial Crimes Squad detectives began investigating the suspected e-tag ring in January after allegations the men were selling road-tolling devices linked to false payment methods, including shonky credit cards sourced on the dark web.
Two of the men were listed to appear at Sydney Downing Centre on Thursday morning over the charges.
The third man is set to appear before Parramatta Local Court on September 25.
Police said the syndicate bought about 10,000 compromised identities and banking details that were linked to the tags, paying approximately $150,000 for the information.
They seized 74 e-tags, $25,000 in cash, and a 2019 Mercedes AMG, along with toll notices and electronic devices.
Police say a shipment of fraudulent e-tags arrived at a Granville property during their search.
Financial Crimes Squad commander, Detective Superintendent Gordon Arbinja said at the time of the arrests in May the investigation was about “standing up for the honest people of NSW that pay their tolls using their own means”.
“This investigation, and the actual (alleged) syndicate, was actually quite simple … what they (allegedly) did was purchase legitimate e-tolls from the two providers, and they were (allegedly) funded with fraudulent credit means.”
Along with the fraud charges, the alleged ringleader was charged with directing a criminal group and dealing with the proceeds of crime.
Officers spoke to 200 taxi drivers and confiscated 12 e-tags believed to be part of the fraudulent scheme as part of the probe.
“Some taxi drivers wouldn’t even know they’ve got these tags that have been compromised with false credit card details,” Detective Superintendent Arbinja said.
“The majority were doing the right thing … if you suspect you have one of these e-tags that are loaded with these credit cards that don’t belong to the toll provider, by all means come to the police.”
– With AAP