A talented fullback on the cusp of the NRL has been jailed after a gambling addiction ruined his life.
Reece Piepers, 22, who reportedly caught the attention of scouts from the Cronulla Sharks as a youngster, started using betting apps on his phone two and a half years ago – and his habit soon became an obsession.
He began borrowing money at every available opportunity so he could gamble – and even once resorted to stealing $650 from a friend’s house.
Pipers pleaded guilty to breaking and entering, stealing and seven counts of fraud in relation to receiving deposits on the job sharing app Airtasker during an appearance in Gosford Local Court on the NSW Central Coast.
He then failed to turn up to do the agreed work after receiving the Airtasker cash.
Piepers’ Legal Aid solicitor told the court earlier this month that her client began ‘constantly looking over his shoulder’ when loan sharks began chasing money he owed them.
Reece Piepers – who reportedly caught the attention of scouts from the Cronulla Sharks as a youngster – started using betting apps on his phone two and a half years ago
The 22-year-old soon was soon $50,000 in debt – with no means of paying the money back
‘He’s fallen victim to a gambling addiction … and with the wrong people,’ the solicitor told the court.
‘He’s found himself in a position where he quite simply didn’t know what to do.’
The court also heard Piepers was pursuing a career as a carpenter when he found himself $50,000 in debt with no means of paying the money back.
After appealing his two-year jail sentence handed down on August 10, Piepers’ stepfather Clinton Fell told the court he installed CCTV cameras in the family home and police got involved after loan sharks came looking for their money in one terrifying incident.
Piepers has no assets and according to Fell, ‘every cent he earnt went back into gambling’.
The rising footy star – who appeared in court via audio-visual link – agreed full-time custody in recent weeks has been ‘a big wake-up call’.
Piepers is due to be re-sentenced for breaking and entering, stealing, and seven counts of fraud — all of which he pleaded guilty to — at Gosford District Court on September 18.