A bikini model who falsely accused a tuktuk driver of raping her in Thailand, and who has been charged nine times in the past 10 years, tried to stay in a luxury Sydney hotel by using someone else’s credit card.
Stevie Bamford pleaded guilty in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court to one charge of fraud.
The 30-year-old lives in Maroubra, in the city’s eastern suburbs, and is the daughter of former rugby league international Peter Tunks.
According to court documents seen by NCA Newswire, Bamford was charged in September after she paid to stay at The Hilton on George St in Sydney using another woman’s credit card.
She checked into the hotel about 7.20pm on September 13 after making an online booking under the name of “Teee Parkinson” for three days under another woman’s credit card for $1544.
Bamford stayed for one night until the evening of September 14 and used the facilities of the hotel, court documents reveal.
“Throughout this time she had several people attend the room for various lengths of time,” the police fact sheet said.
On the afternoon of the 14th, the hotel manager was notified by the woman who owned the credit card that the payment was fraudulent and she had not made the booking or authorised the transaction.
According to court documents, hotel staff declined the transaction and returned the money to the credit card owner, and the hotel tried to obtain the payment from Bamford but she couldn’t pay.
Hotel staff called the police, who questioned how Bamford paid for the room.
She said she wasn’t involved in the booking and payment process and it was an acquaintance who booked it but was not able to use it, so offered it up to Bamford.
The 30-year-old couldn’t offer an explanation as to why her “acquaintance” could offer her a luxury hotel stay for free, court documents state.
Bamford was arrested and charged with fraud.
Deputy Chief Magistrate Sharon Freund told the court Bamford failed to turn up to court in late March, which resulted in her being charged with breaching her bail conditions.
Bamford’s lawyer told the court she suffers from “significant mental health issues” and asked for a sentencing assessment report to be providing to the court.
The matter was adjourned until May for sentence.
The court heard Bamford was in breach of a community corrections order at the time of the offending after pleading guilty at Waverley Local Court to the aggravated entry of a dwelling and theft of an Eastlakes property last year.
In March 2021, Bamford admitted to entering a unit at nearby Eastlakes with two men and another woman on June 20, stealing up to $600 worth of goods including a silver watch, water pipe and CCTV camera.
Court documents state she has been charged in NSW nine times since 2011.
“These offences include property related offences, assault and a breach of bail,” court documents state.
According to court documents, she was caught driving with ice and cocaine in her system, assaulting a police officer, breaching her bail conditions and having a stolen driver’s licence in her possession.
She made international headlines when she was 21 and she falsely claimed to have been raped by a Thai tuktuk driver in Patong.
Bamford was found guilty in Phuket Provincial Court in June 2021 for making the false claim and spent 15 days in prison.
She had told Thai police she was raped by a tuktuk driver as she was coming home from a night out with her boyfriend, and claimed the driver took her to a secluded area and raped her while two other men held her down.
During interrogation, she admitted to lying to police because she did not want her boyfriend to be angry at her for returning late to their resort.
Bamford was allowed to finish her holiday before spending 15 days in the Baan Bang Jo detention centre.
She is due to reappear in Downing Centre Local Court next month.
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