An “extremely remorseful” and troubled former reality TV personality wiped away tears as she avoided jail for fraud and drug offences in what she described as her “last chance”.
Jordan Ray Finlayson wore a black dress, black jacket and beige heels as she appeared in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court on Friday to be sentenced for a string of fraud and drug offences.
The 33-year-old appeared on the reality show Beauty and the Geek in 2011, but then got into drugs. Last year, she was arrested for driving with ice in her system.
The former NRL cheerleader was later released on bail but was given strict conditions, including reporting to police three times a week.
However, police discovered that she had forged four medical certificates to avoid coming to the police station.
Officers believed the documents were legitimate until they accessed her phone and found multiple medical statements that showed significant discrepancies.
Finlayson’s lawyer Matthew Eurell said his client accepted that forging the certificates to evade a court order amounted to “very serious offences”.
“Ms Finlayson accepts that what she did was wrong,” he said.
‘Extremely remorseful’ former reality TV personality Jordan Ray Finlayson wiped away tears as she avoided jail for fraud and drug offences in what she described as her ‘last chance’. Pictured on Friday
“She is extremely sorry.”
He asked the court to take into account the fact that Finlayson committed the offences during ‘a period of great difficulty in her life’.
“She was suffering from a huge drug addiction, she was self-medicated and she was certainly not of sound mind,” Mr Eurell said.
The 33-year-old was a contestant on the reality TV show Beauty and the Geek in 2011 before falling into the drug world
The former model cited “toxic relationships” with people who “normalized drug use” and illegal activities as a “major factor in her downfall.”
Her lawyer explained that she has since severed all ties with “problem individuals” and has “taken as many steps as possible to address her drug use and her many mental health issues.”
“She describes this to the court as her last chance,” he said.
The former Penthouse poser was also convicted of driving with drugs in her system twice and possession of ice.
The former NRL cheerleader was subsequently released on bail with strict conditions, which required her to report to police three times a week. Pictured in 2011
Deputy Chief Magistrate Theo Tsavdaridis noted that Finlayson had 11 drug convictions on her record and had received 38 penalty points in just three years.
The court heard the former Beauty and the Geek contestant was jailed for drug trafficking in 2020 and has continued to commit crimes since then.
“Drugs have had a major, major impact on her life over the last five or six years,” Mr Tsavdaridis said.
The magistrate said he was “quite reserved” about Finlayson’s “future prospects” because she had not completed many mandatory community service hours and the prison had described her as “unreliable”.
However, he stressed that she had been actively involved in treatment and had “not sat idle” while awaiting her sentence.
However, police discovered that she had forged four medical certificates to avoid coming to the police station as required.
Finlayson’s lawyer Matthew Eurell said his client accepted that falsifying the certificates to avoid complying with a court order amounted to “very serious offences”
In one of the reports handed to the court, the former professional dancer was described as “committed in her efforts to turn her life around”.
Finlayson pleaded guilty to four charges of using false documents to influence the performance of a public duty, two charges of driving with drugs in her system and two charges of drug possession.
She was sentenced to 10 months’ ICO and 75 hours of community service for falsifying medical certificates.
She was also convicted of drug offenses, fined $750 and given a six-month driving ban.
The former reality star wiped away tears during the hearing and appeared relieved as she left the court.