Bikie associate 'convinces a bushfire relief charity his house burned to the ground to scam $20k before blowing the cash on drugs' - while REAL victims struggle to make ends meet

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A nomads bikie associate who was arrested for his alleged involvement in two drive-by shootings and fraud is accused of scamming a bushfire relief charity out of $20,000. 

James O'Keefe, who also goes by the name James Wallace, allegedly claimed his home in Long Beach, on the New South Wales South Coast, was destroyed by fires.

The father-of-one, 33, allegedly submitted two applications to the Australian Red Cross for financial assistance, both of which were approved, the Daily Telegraph reported.

James O'Keefe (pictured), who also goes by the name James Wallace, allegedly claimed his home in Long Beach, on the NSW South Coast, was destroyed by fires

The father-of-one allegedly submitted two applications to the Australian Red Cross, both of which were approved

Police allege the father lived more than 4km from the nearest firefront and his home was not touched.

Some of the money O'Keefe received in funding was used attempting to purchase large quantities of drugs, police will allege in court.

'We have not only had bushfires, we have had the greatest natural disaster to affect this country in recent memory,' Criminal Groups Squad Detective Superintendent Rob Critchlow said. 

Residents in the Batemans Bay area are still living in caravans and tents as a result of losing their homes.

These are the people that need charity relief, Det Supt Critchlow said.

The Red Cross raised $150million for bushfire relief and is attempting to retrieve the funds back from O'Keefe.

The 33-year-old was charged with multiple charges, including firearm offences, fraud, affray and drug supply.

Despite police alleging the 33-year-old lived more than four kilometres from the nearest firefront (Batemans Bay fire pictured) and his home was not touched, he received $20,000

Another man, 26-year-old Matthew McGann, was also arrested over allegations he falsely claimed his home was flattened in the fires.

Det Supt Critchlow said there could be more arrests in the future as they believe there may have been more bikie associates who attempted to make claims.

'We know the charitable group was very keen to get money into the community to support business and individuals and they have been duped by these criminal groups,' he said. 

Det Supt Critchlow said the alleged behaviour of the men was 'disgusting'.

More than 500 homes were destroyed and eight people were killed when wild bushfires ravages the NSW South Coast over summer.

Another man, 26-year-old Matthew McGann (pictured) was also arrested over allegations he falsely claimed his home was flattened in the fires

The Red Cross is distributing grants of up to $20,000 to those who have been displaced by the catastrophic events or injured.

The charity has found 'several dozen' claims to be 'suspicious' and referred a number of cases to the police.

Director of Australian services Noel Clement said multiple people in small communities have falsely claimed their homes were affected by the fires.

'In one community alone we had applications for 15 homes that we were told had been destroyed, none appeared on official damage assessments so we directly inspected the sites and discovered that none had been impacted by the fires,' he said.

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