Former Ulladulla man Nathan Eric Bell, who pleaded guilty to dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception, has escaped a jail term.
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In Nowra Local Court on Monday, September 3, Magistrate Michael Stoddart placed Bell, 35, now living in Harrison in the ACT, on an eight-month suspended jail sentence.
Court papers said the charge stems from January this year when Bell stayed at the Pleasant Way River Lodge in Nowra for seven days [$810] and enjoyed a meal at the nearby River Thai restaurant [$114], which he also charged back to his motel room.
Papers said Bell also drank four soft drinks, failed to return the key to the motel when he left, which cost $150 to replace and also took a pillow, which he claimed he bled on.
The total bill came to $1116.40.
Despite insisting his boss was going to pay, Bell left the motel without fixing up the bill.
At the time he was also on a two-year-good behaviour bond for a similar charge dating back to December 2016 when he failed to provide an a iPhone he had been paid $800 for.
For breaking that bond, Magistrate Stoddart placed Bell on a 12-month good behaviour bond.
The former Shoalhaven sportsman, who refers to himself as Nathan ‘The King’ Bell, once famously challenged and then promoted a fight against Aussie boxing champion and former international rugby league player John Hopoate, which never came off.
