Claudia Gelonese: Fraudster bride avoids more jail time, won’t have baby in prison
Prosecutors have agreed to let fraudster bride Claudia Gelonese get out of serving more jail time so she doesn’t have to give birth behind bars.
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Fraudster bride Claudia Gelonese will not be sent back to jail, after “reasonable” and “fair” prosecutors agreed she should not have to give birth behind bars.
Gelonese, now known as Claudia Ghanem, fronted the ACT Supreme Court on Tuesday accompanied by a throng of supporters, including her former Instagram influencer sister, Julia.
Gelonese was two months pregnant when she was taken off the floor of the ACT Magistrates Court and sentenced to seven months jail, to be suspended after four months served.
She had admitted to defrauding her former employer, the Bright Bees Early Learning Centre, of thousands of dollars, which she used to bankroll her dream harbourside wedding, which featured matching Rolls Royces and a lavish reception for hundreds of guests at Luna Park.
Gelonese was granted bail after 38 days in Canberra’s notoriously violent and drug-riddled prison, the Alexander Maconochie Centre.
Court delays meant Gelonese, now nearly seven months pregnant, would have given birth as a prisoner if she had lost the appeal.
Her legal team were set to argue Gelonese’s jail sentence was “manifestly excessive”.
But prosecutors — despite their view the sentence was justified — on Tuesday agreed for Justice Michael Elkaim to re-sentence Gelonese to seven months jail, suspended after time served.
Justice Michael Elkaim said the prosecution “has taken what I consider to be an approach that is characterised by its practicality, reasonableness and fairness”.
Gelonese is due to give birth in September
“The Crown has recognised that as a result of COVID-19 ... that an unsatisfactory result has emerged,” Justice Elkaim said.
Gelonese will still be forced to repay more than $7000 she defrauded from her former boss, Amresh Kumar, by giving parents and the childcare centre her personal bank account details to deposit fees into.
Court records show Gelonese used the ill-gotten money to pay for a graphic designer and wedding invitations, among other expenses, and lied to police about her misuse of a work credit card.
Her fraud against the now-struggling, family-owned business came despite Mr Kumar loaning her $10,000, which she claimed she “urgently needed”.
Gelonese is required to be of good behaviour for a year, among a string of other conditions on her suspended sentence.
