‘Down Under Barbie’s’ wild $18k fraud spree

A would-be Instagram influencer used the personal information of others to set up lines of credit for herself, even depositing a cheque for $15,000 into her own account, a court has been told.

The quantum of Skye Louise Rivers’ fraud – which left at least 17 people thousands of dollars out of pocket – was laid bare during her sentencing hearing at Brisbane Supreme Court on Monday.

Justice Catherine Muir warned Rivers, who represented herself, that she risked going back into custody due to the “unacceptable” fraud offences and her possession of the drug ice.

But the 47-year-old instead walked from court on immediate parole after receiving a head sentence of three years’ jail.

Rivers, who called herself the “Down Under Barbie” on her Instagram handle, pleaded guilty last year to 30 charges.

They included possessing dangerous drugs in excess of 2g, dealing with identification information, stealing, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, possessing equipment for the purpose of facilitating the commission of an offence, personation and multiple counts of fraud, attempted fraud and receiving tainted property.

The court was told Rivers received property stolen from about 17 different complainants, including cheques, vehicle keys, phones, tablets and a camping fridge.

She also received other people’s drivers licences, bank and Medicare cards, fuel cards and passports.

Some of the stolen property was pawned and the bank cards were used by Rivers to purchase groceries.

Crown prosecutor Andrew Lowrie said Rivers used the personal information of others to obtain, or attempt to obtain, lines of credit for herself.

“The personal information of the others allowed her to pass credit checks and inquiries from those financial institutions,” Mr Lowrie said.

He said Rivers set up SIM cards in other people’s names to support applications for lines of credit.

In another instance, she deposited a cheque worth more than $15,000 into her own bank account.

The court was told Rivers continued to use another person’s personal information to hire a vehicle that was never returned and stole a backpack containing another person’s GoPro camera, laptop and iPhone.

The items were never returned, Mr Lowrie said.

Rivers also used the personal information of one person to set up a Bunnings card and obtain power tools from the business.

“She also had a quantity of tools and cutting implements which were used in making counterfeit documents,” Mr Lowrie said.

Mr Lowrie said Rivers stored the personal information on hard drives and kept hard copies of financial documents.

The court was told identifiable losses to the victims could not be fully calculated, but they were estimated to be more than $18,000.

Rivers’ single drug possession offence related to her being caught by police with two clip-seal bags of a substance – identified to be the drug ice – in January 2023.

Mr Lowrie said it was committed while Rivers was on bail for the fraud and property-related offending.

Justice Muir arrived at her head sentence of three years after having regard to Rivers’ difficult upbringing and her strong family support.

Rivers told the court that she had been a victim of domestic violence and had struggled with drug addiction.

She said she was studying human services and criminology at university.

“I plan to go ahead and advocate for other people after seeing some of the things that I’ve seen in the system,” Rivers said.

The court was told she also was a qualified skipper and worked on boat vessels.

“You seem highly motivated to address your needs around substance and mental health struggles,” Justice Muir said after reading Rivers’ material.

References, including from Rivers’ close family, were tendered in her support.

“You need to lean on all the supports you have and continue, as you have, to move forward,” Justice Muir told Rivers.

More than seven months Rivers had served in pre-sentence custody were declared as time served.

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