A pastor has pleaded guilty to defrauding individuals and businesses of more than $300,000 through unfulfilled promises and bad cheques.

Gavin Otto entered guilty pleas to all 19 charges on Monday, including six counts of fraudulent conversion and 13 counts of obtaining money by false pretences, committed between February 2021 and October 2022. He is due to be sentenced on 7 November.

The fraudulent conversion charges relate to cases where victims paid for steel and 40-foot shipping containers that were never delivered. In one incident, a man paid over $15,000 for a container he never received. In another, a woman paid $16,000 for two containers but received only one after Otto issued a cheque that bounced.

Other victims were misled into paying for building materials or steel, receiving either partial deliveries or worthless cheques. Otto also cashed multiple cheques at gas stations and businesses that later bounced due to insufficient funds.

Police obtained a search warrant for Otto’s home in October 2022, where he was caught attempting to evade officers. Receipts and cheque stubs were recovered during the search.

The pastor now faces sentencing for defrauding victims and businesses of more than $300,000.