A farmer who was found with a tractor stolen seven years earlier, told police he bought it for $20,000 from a man who turned up at his property offering it for sale.
The man, from the Murchison district, pleaded guilty in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court to negligently dealing with the proceeds of crime.
Prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Brent O’Grady told the court the man told police he had “an old” John Deere tractor when they asked if he owned one during an investigation of his property on October 8 last year.
What police found was a 5095M John Deere tractor that had been stolen from a dealership in Kerang in 2014.
The man told police at the time that he bought the tractor four or five years ago for $20,000 from a man who came to the farm gate selling it, Leading Sen Constable O’Grady said.
The tractor would normally retail new for about $90,000.
The court also heard the man did all of his own mechanical repairs on the tractor, meaning he would never have to take it to a dealership where it would be discovered it had been stolen.
“That a farmer would buy a tractor with cash and not receive tax benefits is unheard of,” Leading Sen Constable O’Grady said.
The man’s solicitor Emma King said the police informant had “given his own opinion” when it came to farmers buying machinery with cash.
“A man turned up (at the property) and offered the tractor for sale, which looked dirty, and he took a punt and paid for it,” Ms King said.
“Ordinarily he would buy second-hand at clearance sales.”
She said her client was embarrassed, and understood it was his responsibility that if he was to undertake a transaction it needed to look “above board”.
She also said it was the first time the man had been before the court, and she asked for an adjourned undertaking as a sentence.
Magistrate Ian Watkins placed the man on a 12-month adjourned undertaking to be of good behaviour and did not record a conviction.
He said he took into account it was the man’s first time before the court, his co-operation with police and his plea of guilty.
Mr Watkins did, however, sentence the man to pay $2500 to the court fund.
“If it looks too good to be true, it really is,” Mr Watkins said.
“You can’t blame whatever rogue sold you the tractor.
“Farm theft is rife. There would be fewer thieves if there wasn’t receivers.”