Reece Piepers was a rising footy star with dreams of playing in the NRL. Now the 22-year-old has...
Daily Mail A promising young footballer destined to play in the NRLlanded himself in jail after scamming innocent people on Airtasker in order to feed a gambling habit that robbed him of his life savings.
Reece Piepers, 22, was in the reserve leagues for the Roosters and Cronulla Sharks but his dream of pursuing a career in footy was spoiled when he developed a serious gambling problem.
Over two years, Piepers, a qualified carpenter from Umina Beach on the NSW Central Coast, signed up to do various labouring jobs on Airtasker - but the work was never completed.
Instead, he would request clients pay him a deposit up front only to then give a string of excuses as to why he couldn't do the job - pocketing $28,000 for himself in the process.
Piepers pleaded guilty to breaking and entering, stealing, and dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception. He was sentenced to two years behind bars in August with a non-parole period of 12 months.
He appealed the decision and, after hearing details of his downfall, the NSW District Court on Tuesday ordered Piepers be released from jail, handing him a sentence to be served in the community instead.
