Suzi Taylor has pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and theft after she was caught using a stolen credit card to buy alcohol.
The former Block star, 47, was filmed buying booze at a bottle shop in Brisbane on May 2 and appeared at Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday, where she was given a $2,500 fine but no criminal conviction.
According to The Courier-Mail, the charges came after Suzi stole a credit card off a patient recovering in the same room as her boyfriend at Mater Hospital on May 2.
The ex-Penthouse Pet went to spend more than $500 on seven separate transactions, including $400 on alcohol.
A week later, Suzi was also identified on CCTV by staff at Brisbane’s Westin Hotel taking a mobile phone and laptop from a guest at their bar.
Police located the stolen items at Suzi’s Bulimba home on May 10, and was given a notice to appear in court.
Court: Suzi Taylor has pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and theft after she was caught using a stolen credit card to buy alcohol. Pictured outside her Brisbane home on Saturday
However, while speaking to Daily Mail Australia on Saturday, the devastated mother-of-three claimed she had no idea the card was stolen and that it was given to her by ‘strangers’ who said she could ‘buy whatever she wanted’ with it.
Suzi admitted she was drunk and on prescription drugs at the time and claimed that the group approached her after she left Mater Hospital, where she’d been visiting her boyfriend Jonathan Gregory Kelly.
The former Penthouse model said: ‘I was leaving the hospital and a couple of people were following me on the street. I sensed them behind me.
‘I was incoherent at the time, I wasn’t thinking straight, but I did have a sense of urgency to get further away from them.’
Suzi, whose full name is Suellen Jan Taylor, explained: ‘When I got to a cab, they said, “Quick quick, jump in,” so I got in the front and they were in the back.
‘They asked me to stop at a shop and gave me a credit card to use, which I thought was their card.’
No charge: The former Block star, 47, was filmed buying booze at a bottle shop in Brisbane in early May and appeared at the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday, where she was given a fine but no criminal conviction
Incident: The mother-of-three told Daily Mail Australia she had no idea the card was stolen and that it was given to her by ‘strangers’ who told her to ‘buy whatever she wanted
Suzi added that she had ‘no recollection’ of the incident and couldn’t recall where the bottle shop was.
‘AIl I remember is thinking, “What wonderful people letting me buy alcohol”. They said, “You buy whatever you want”.’
The reality star continued: ‘I used the card thinking it was someone’s card – and I’m the one on the CCTV footage. It makes no sense to me now, thinking back, that I could’ve been so silly to have trusted someone.’
‘Looking back as a person who is known in the media, going into a bottle shop with cameras all over – it’s just something that would be ludicrous to do. The honest truth is – I thought I was doing the right thing.’
Disoriented: Suzi admitted she was drunk and on prescription drugs at the time and claimed that the group of strangers approached her after she left hospital, where she’d been visiting her boyfriend Jonathan Gregory Kelly (pictured in hospital)
Ordeal: She said: ‘When I got to a cab, they said, “Quick quick, jump in,” so I got in the front and they were in the back. They asked me to stop at a shop and gave me a credit card to use, which I thought was their card’. Pictured, left, on The Block in 2015
She claimed she was ‘taken advantage of’ as she was intoxicated and on prescription drugs at the time, adding that her mental state had been poor due to depression and alcohol addiction.
‘I was put in a position where I wasn’t thinking straight. I’ve been taken advantage of when I was intoxicated. My mental state has not been good due to depression and addiction to alcohol and prescriptions drugs.’
‘And that all mixed up together with personal issues… my thought process was not the best and I made bad decisions.’
Suzi added: ‘I think we’re all human and I am a good person. This is just not me at all. You can make silly mistakes.’
Taylor explained that she pleaded guilty to avoid the ‘trauma and stress’ of a trial and was advised that it was the ‘quickest and easiest’ way to get out of the situation without getting a criminal record.
Nightmare: ‘AIl I remember is thinking, “What wonderful people letting me buy alcohol”. They said, “You buy whatever you want”,’ she told Daily Mail Australia
‘I was told to plead guilty as if I didn’t it could have gone worse in my favour. Pleading not guilty could have had adverse reactions and given me a criminal record, which I did not need and don’t deserve,’ she said.
The reality star revealed that she’s in a fragile state and seeking counselling, but isn’t currently in rehab and is resting at home with her family.
‘At this very moment I’m numb, I’m tired, I’m sad. I’m not in a good frame of mind at all. I haven’t been sleeping well and this is just another terrible thing in my life that I have to face head on,’ Suzi said.
She added: ‘I’m resting, I’m surrounded by good people. I do have family and children, and this does play a major part in my life.
Mistake: Suzi added: ‘I think we’re all human and I am a good person. This is just not me at all. You can make silly mistakes’
Distressed: Taylor explained that she pleaded guilty to avoid the ‘trauma and stress’ of a trial and was advised that it was the ‘quickest and easiest’ way to get out of the situation without getting a criminal record
‘I’ve got a supportive network around me. I’m quite lucky. I will be getting a lot of rest and staying low. I’m seeking counselling.’
The former model said the charges had also put pressure on her relationship with boyfriend Jonathan, 36.
‘We’ve known each other for years. It’s been quite hard on my partner,’ Suzi admitted.
Suzi also touched on the weekend she spent with retired NRL star Greg Inglis back in May – when the 32-year-old ‘went missing’ and partied with her at her Brisbane mansion.
‘I’m in a relationship and all that hurt was my relationship and all it hurt was Greg’s relationship. Nothing untoward happened,’ she said.
‘It’s been quite hard on my partner’: The former model said the charges had also put pressure on her relationship with boyfriend Jonathan, 36. (Pictured: Suzi with Jonathan)
Pals: Suzi also touched on the weekend she spent with retired NRL star Greg Inglis (pictured) back in May – when the 32-year-old ‘went missing’ and partied with her at her Brisbane mansion
Friendly weekend: ‘I’m in a relationship and all that hurt was my relationship and all it hurt was Greg’s relationship. Nothing untoward happened,’ she said
She checked into a Sydney rehab facility several weeks after the weekend with Greg for mental health problems and alcohol dependence.
A friend of the former model explained in a statement at the time that she’d been struggling with depression for many years, in addition to ‘personal family matters’ and ‘external pressures’.
Talking to Daily Mail Australia, Suzi said the trolling she’s endured since appearing on The Block in 2015 has deeply affected her family.
‘We [reality stars] all put our hand up – we’re the ones who agreed to go on the show, you don’t expect the trolls and the haters.
‘What it hurts most is those close to you, which is your family.’
Fun-loving: Suzi’s topless dance on a boat in Melbourne (pictured), made her one of The Block’s most controversial stars
Suzi appeared on The Block as part of the ‘Single Mums’ renovating team alongside then-best friend Yvonne ‘Voni’ Cosier.
Even though the pair placed last on the show, they still walked away with a tidy profit of $349,000.
But it was Suzi’s off-camera antics, including an infamous topless dance on a boat in Melbourne, that made her one of the franchise’s most controversial stars.
During filming, she was also found collapsed and unconscious after suffering from ‘exhaustion’.
Suzi posed nude for Penthouse in the early ’90s and briefly dated INXS star Michael Hutchence.
Model: Suzi posed nude for Penthouse in the early ’90s and briefly dated INXS star Michael Hutchence
