Stolen driver’s licence leaves Aussie man 'spiralling' in $20k of traffic offences
Kelvin Bellette lost his driver's licence on a bus in 2021.
infringements worth $20,000. Source: ABC/Sophie Millar
A pensioner with a disability claims he is facing over $20,000 in fines after more than seven people falsely nominated him for their driving infringements.
Kelvin Bellette reportedly lost his wallet on a bus in the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne's southeast back in 2021. After reporting it to police it was located and returned to him, yet his driver's licence was missing.
Since then he has allegedly received nearly 60 infringements for driving offences — claiming he is only responsible for four. They include speeding, driving without a seatbelt and driving an unregistered car through a toll zone. Even after moving to Colac earlier in the year — over 200 kilometres away from the Mornington Peninsula — the driving offences kept rolling in.
Pensioner's name 'shopped around' as nominated driver
In need of assistance Bellette reportedly reached out to lawyer Tony Prytz and the pair pushed to get their hands on an image associated with one of the fines, hoping to prove the person behind the wheel was not Bellette.
"He's been in a spiral of dealing with fines that aren't his," Pyrtz told ABC. "It looks like his name has been shopped around the district down on the Mornington Peninsula to nominate him as a driver."
Can you spot the demerit offence in this NRMA road rules photo?
How man could have been hit with $10,000 in fines in 11 minutes
Legal proceedings have been complicated after Bellette entered a payment plan to start paying off the offences. It's unclear if he initially thought he was responsible for more of the fines and his relocation flagged it as a case of identity theft, or whether he was initially eager to simply clear his name.
Among those who have allegedly falsely nominated him is a trades business, which is responsible for eight offences alone, while seven other individuals driving different vehicles have put his name down for offences too.
The pair are now reportedly working with the Department of Justice in the hope of finding a solution.
Trend of falsely nominating drivers getting 'out of control'
There has been an increase in the number of drivers leaning into the illegal practice of falsely nominating another to clear themselves of an infringement, with a black market sprouting on Facebook Marketplace.
On social media drivers are often eager to dodge demerit points associated with the infringement and will trade them in exchange for cash, often to strangers. However, in Bellette's case the offenders went one step further and simply wiped their hands of the offence entirely.
This week a criminal lawyer said the number of drivers seeking legal advice after getting involved in this illegal practice has got "out of control".
"This used to be a very tiny part of my practice, I do about eight to nine consultations a week on this," Jahan Kalantar told 7News Sunrise.
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