A businessman has admitted participating in a criminal group, more than a year after police first alleged he used his position as the owner of the Tuggeranong Vodafone store to commit identity theft.
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Mohit Arora, 34, was charged in September 2020 with unlawfully dealing in identification information.
ACT Policing said in a statement at the time that officers had conducted two searches, seizing identification material and a letter relating to a fraudulently obtained credit card.
The force said it believed Arora was "operating as part of a larger fraud syndicate", and that more charges would be laid.
That happened in March, when Arora was further charged with 67 counts of being knowingly concerned in obtaining a financial advantage by deception and two counts of unlawful possession of stolen property.
Announcing those charges, ACT Policing issued a statement alleging Arora had "stolen documents he had access to as the owner of the Tuggeranong Vodafone store".
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"To date police have identified 83 victims," the March media release said.
Arora subsequently pleaded not guilty to all charges and was committed to the ACT Supreme Court for trial.
His trial was listed to start on November 15, but it was vacated on Thursday after prosecutors brought a new indictment containing a single charge.
Arora, who appeared in court via video link, pleaded guilty to the allegation that he participated in a criminal group between June and December of 2019.
The details of the offence are not known, with agreed facts yet to be tendered to the court.
Prosecutor Rebecca Christensen SC told Justice Michael Elkaim the Crown accepted the plea in full satisfaction of all the charges before the court.
Ms Christensen said the Crown was unlikely to concede that any sentence other than a term of full-time imprisonment was appropriate for Arora.
However, Arora's lawyer, Jessica Tohi, asked for the court to order an assessment of her client's suitability for an intensive correction order.
Justice Elkaim ordered one as part of a pre-sentence report, and continued Arora's bail.
The matter will go before a registrar next Thursday in order to obtain a sentencing date.
The offence of participating in a criminal group carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
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