Disgraced former Wests Tigers NRL player Tim Simona has been given an 18-month good behaviour bond for his "cruel hoax upon members of the community".
The 25-year-old had pleaded guilty to dishonestly obtaining property by deception after pocketing money from the sale of signed club jerseys that were purportedly auctioned for the Camp Quality children's charity.
At the Campbelltown Local Court on Tuesday, Simona's lawyer asked that there be no conviction recorded but Magistrate Ian Guy rejected that argument because the matter was "not trivial".
"It wasn't a single event - best estimate is somewhere between 10 to 15 occasions and the plan involved you obtaining goods, buying them ... from rugby league headquarters and then putting them on social media for auction," he said.
The magistrate said "unsuspecting" people thought their money was going to a good cause.
"Little did they realise they were benefiting you.
"It was a cruel hoax upon members of the community."
Simona was deregistered from the NRL in March after admitting to placing bets on more than 60 games in 2016.
He has since revealed he had a cocaine addiction which developed during his time at the NRL club.
The court heard every dollar has now been paid back to Camp Quality and Simona deeply regretted his action and "accepts accountability".
He now has two jobs - including working as a personal trainer - that earns him about $600 net per week.
Mr Guy accepted there'd been consequences through the loss of employment with the NRL but said it was "speculation" a criminal conviction would affect his future rugby career in Australia and overseas.
He gave Simona a good behaviour bond which requires him to "stay out of trouble" for 18 months.
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