Salvatore ‘Sam’ Sgherza paid $247,800 to settle high-interest debts to bikies, Adelaide Magistrates Court hears

Ex-bankrupt developer Salvatore ‘Sam’ Sgherza sourced high-interest loans from bikies who have threatened him and his family if he reveals their identity, a court has heard.

Salvatore ‘Sam’ Sgherza outside the Adelaide Magistrates Court which heard he was loaned money from bikies. Picture: AAP Image/Russell Millard

Former bankrupt developer Salvatore ‘Sam’ Sgherza sourced high-interest loans from bikies who threatened him and his family if he revealed their identity, a court has heard.

He also sold a Ferrari, Aston Martin and Maserati sports car to settle debts and spent $40,000 on credit cards including $11,000 on luxury clothes and $6000 on a Gold Coast holiday prior to becoming bankrupt.

The details emerged today during sentencing submissions in a criminal case against Sgherza, 56, who has pleaded guilty to four counts of breaching bankruptcy laws prior to becoming a bankrupt in August 2012.

The Adelaide Magistrates Court heard that Shgerza, who faces up to two years’ jail or a maximum $120,000 fine for each offence, had withdrawn $247,800 within 12 months of his bankruptcy, in breach of Commonwealth law.

Sgherza‘s lawyer Andrew Moffa told Magistrate David McLeod that the funds were paid, with the knowledge of his liquidator, to “non-traditional” lenders.

When Mr McLeod said it was “unsatisfactory” that Sgherza had not revealed their identity, Mr Moffa said the funding related to “OMG bikie funding”.

“(It was) unsatisfactory your Honour, but he has been under a lot of pressure and indeed threatened a number of times with respect to identification of particular people,” he said.

“He was unable to identify, because of the threats that were made to him and his family, about disclosure.”

He said the moneys loaned by the “non-traditional lenders” were used to pay the subcontractors in late 2008.

Sgherza, who pleaded guilty to signing a false declaration and failing to disclose information about his conduct and affairs, was discharged from bankruptcy in 2015.

Mr Moffa accepted that Tony Matthews, acting as trustee of Sgherza’s bankrupt estate, had asked Sgherza on “more than a couple of occasions” to whom he had paid funds.

“The responses were (there were) no papers, I can’t give you dates and I can’t give you names,” he said.

Infinity Waters apartment at West Lakes

The court heard Sgherza turned to non-bank lenders in late 2008, during the GFC, when the bank financing construction of the Infinity Waters apartment project at West Lakes “wanted their money back”

“No bank will advance the loans with respect to refunding the project, so there was a real angst there at about 2008 cause of the GFC,” he said.

“That necessitated my client sourcing funds from non-traditional lenders, at high interest rates.”

Federal prosecutor Amelia McCormick said when Sgherza withdrew the funds he was aware that there was a “substantial risk” there would be a petition resulting in his bankruptcy.

“From March (2012) the defendant was meeting with liquidators and his trustee … he must’ve been aware he was in financial difficulties, nevertheless he continued to spend,” she said, adding that Sgherza had acted out of “greed and not need”.

She said he charged $40,000 to a credit card, including $11,000 for luxury clothing and $6000 spent on a luxury hotel on the Gold Coast.

She said it was not alleged Sgherza had defrauded creditors but that the only “appropriate sentence” was imprisonment.

But Mr Moffa denied Sgherza was acting out of greed and asked Mr McLeod to record a conviction, bond and fine.

“It’s not as if he’s has got $5 million salted overseas or money salted here because we would’ve heard about that; there’s no unexplained wealth,” he said.

Sgherza will be sentenced in August.

SALVATORE ‘SAM’ SGHERZA

Age: 56

Born: Port Pirie, 29/6/1963

One of three children of Onofrio and Anna Sgherza

Educated: St Michael’s College

Father of two

Worked with father building houses after school and into his early 20s. At age 28 undertook an architectural and building course at TAFE

Worked for Samuel James Homes for five years until his early 30s.

Established the Sam Sgherza Group of Companies in 2003 which built the Infinity Waters, the Crown Marina at North Haven and won multiple awards for residential building

Declared bankrupt on August 30, 2012

Federal DPP filed 46 criminal charges against Sgherza on June 24, 2016

Sgherza pleaded guilty to four revised charges in June 2019.