Former Financial Advisor with Freedom Finance based in Melbourne, Anthony Del Vecchio has been sentenced to seven and a half years in jail for betting with clients’ money.
The Mazza family, clients of Del Vecchio, has lost a quarter of a million due to his gambling.
Originally, they had been led to believe their money was being invested in high-interest term deposits; however, around Christmas, they discovered that the money was gone.
It was discovered that Del Vecchio had been using money from over 30 clients to gamble.
Several betting companies had been using tactics aimed at Del Vecchio to keep him gambling longer.
Across 52 online bookmakers, the money of Del Vecchio lost by gambling was close to $4.5 million.
Greed Unrestricted
A list showing the amount Del Vecchio had lost with each bookmaker was presented by a forensic accountant.
Judge Cannon commented on how the report showed the ease with which the money had been gambled with:
“[The report] demonstrates the extraordinary sums of money you gambled, money which was not yours for the most part, and also reveals the various betting agencies who were apparently happy to take that money without any qualm or enquiry”
The list showed that over $1 million of the money had gone into MintBet.
Their director and compliance officer, Casey McCutcheon, refused to answer when asked whether due diligence had been done on the origin of the money that Del Vecchio used to gamble.
The Law Doesn’t Protect
Three times has Independent MP Andrew Wilkie tried to pass legislation, forcing agencies to return stolen money, and each time it has been rejected by the federal parliament.
MP Wilkie had this to say about it:
“The fact that at the federal level, three times the government and the opposition have failed to act, proves to me that they continue to run a protection racket for the gambling industry”
So Called “VIP” Clients
Judge Canon has pointed out that several VIP managers from the betting companies had been giving Del Vecchio additional incentives for him to gamble any money he happened to win.
Notifications would be sent out if a client considered VIP hadn’t gambled or deposited money.
Those who have been labeled as “VIP” happen to be normal people who happen to lose larger sums and are considered crucial when it comes to maintaining these agencies.
Four Corners has reported that, according to insiders who used to work in the industry, VIP managers are often instructed to use incentives to entice target customers.