In short:
Kelvin Bellette’s lawyer says he has almost been cleared of dozens of traffic infringements which he claims he was falsely nominated for.
He has been nominated for yet another infringement, which he says is also false, while working with lawyers.
What’s next?
Mr Bellette will make a formal complaint to police to prompt an investigation of the matter.
A Victorian disability pensioner who claims to have been falsely nominated for nearly 60 traffic infringements worth more than $20,000 says he has had yet another crime wrongly pinned on him.
Colac resident and part-time pizza delivery driver Kelvin Bellette claimed he had been the victim of identity fraud after receiving the notices for traffic infringements in the Mornington Peninsula and surrounding areas.
In 2021, Mr Bellette lost his wallet in the Mornington Peninsula and when it was returned, his driver’s licence was missing.
Since then, he has received dozens of nominated infringement notices from multiple people for offences he claims he did not commit, including speeding and driving without a seatbelt.
He said he was only responsible for four of the infringements.
Mr Bellette said the incidents had significantly disrupted his life, but he was now working again as a pizza delivery driver.
“I lost my licence for 12 months. I couldn’t do anything. I thought I was a let-down in society, but now I have a job,” he said.
Mr Bellette was working with a Colac law firm to clear his name of the crimes.
Law clerk Sophie Millar assisted him in rejecting each each false nomination.
It has been a long process, but Ms Millar said almost all of the roughly 60 fines were cleared or in the process of being removed.
“We’re feeling that we’re on the far side of things, and getting towards the end,” she said.
Only two fines, totalling about $1,500, were outstanding, according to Ms Millar.
She said these were speeding fines that required a court application to clear.
New speeding ticket
But Mr Bellette claimed his details were still being used by people to dodge accountability.
On May 9, the day Mr Bellette’s situation was first covered by the ABC, he said he was falsely nominated for yet another traffic infringement.
This time, it was a speeding ticket for a driving offence in Heidelberg, in north-east Melbourne.
Mr Bellette’s lawyers requested a licence change to prevent him being falsely nominated in future.
Fines Victoria had provided the legal team with a list of names of people who had nominated Mr Bellette.
Ms Milllar said searches for the individuals were not successful, nor were attempts to contact a business involved.
She said there was speculation about whether Mr Bellette’s details had been shared in Facebook black market groups where people trade and sell demerit points.
Ms Millar said there was also potential his details had been shared by word of mouth, as all of the traffic infringements were committed in the same areas.
Police yet to investigate
Mr Bellette said he felt “disappointed” by the lack of action from police.
He said he had visited the police twice regarding his situation, including with his lawyers on January 16.
The ABC understands police had not begun looking into the matter as Mr Bellette had not yet made a formal police report.
A Victoria Police spokesperson said once any matter was reported to police, an investigation would commence.
Ms Millar said they had assumed the police would be investigating, and her focus as a lawyer was on clearing Mr Bellette’s debt.
She said Mr Bellette would make a formal report in the hopes of kickstarting a police investigation.