Abdel Ghadia: Rapper went on spending spree after waking up to couple’s house deposit in bank account

A wannabe rapper woke up to find almost $1 million in his account after a couple accidentally sent him their house deposit, instead of the bank. See his outrageous spending spree.

Abdel Ghadia used to rap under the name Slimy. He will return to court in December to be sentenced after spending a couple’s bank transfer that landed in his account by mistake.

A Sydney couple’s worst nightmare came true after they accidentally transferred a house deposit close to $1 million to the back account of a wannabe rapper who splurged the money on gold bars, clothes and foreign exchange, it has been revealed in court.

When asked whether he spent the couple’s money, Abdel Ghadia, 24, of Sefton, replied: “no, cuz”.

Ghadia has pleaded guilty to two counts of dealing with the property proceeds of crime at Burwood Local Court, and the wannabe rapper – who used to upload rap videos to YouTube under the name Slimy – fronted the court on Tuesday as the astonishing scenario and spending spree was laid bare.

According to court documents, in October 2020, a Sydney couple were going through the steps to buy a new home, eventually nearing the completion of a purchase in June the following year. They were told by their broker to send $759,314 to a nominated Commonwealth Bank account to finalise the purchase.

When the settlement date came, the conveyancer told them the bank couldn’t find their funds, and they weren’t in the designated account.

Abdel Ghadia pleaded guilty to two counts of dealing with the property proceeds of crime.

Unbeknown to everyone, it had ended up in Ghadia’s.

According to court documents, there is no indication that he was involved in the transfer.

Waking up to the cash windfall, Ghadia went on a wild spending spree, first starting with gold.

At the ABC Bullion store on Pitt St in the CBD, Ghadia spent $598,188, across six visits in June 2021, on a collection of gold bars. He bought 14 in total, ranging in weight from 10oz to 1kg, and was captured on CCTV each time.

At Ainslie Bullion, a QLD-based gold dealer, he spent $62,843 on a 500g gold bullion and 10oz bar. He also purchased $48,222-worth of gold KHC coins. As of Tuesday, court documents revealed the gold Ghadia bought still hadn’t been located by police.

Ghadia, who told officers at the time of his arrest he “wanted to give gold to someone I loved”, then dabbled on the international money market – purchasing a total of $14,490 in foreign exchange.

Across June and July 2021, he also took out $13,600 in cash from ATMs across Sydney from the money inadvertently deposited into his account.

His final spot was Westfield Parramatta, spending $6235 on clothes from Uniqlo and JD Sports, and makeup from MECCA.

When he was finally apprehended and questioned by police in October 2021, Ghadia – who then earned $4800 a month as a pick-packer at a clothes warehouse – told officers he “just woke up and saw the money”, court documents revealed.

“The money just dropped into my account and I spent it,” Ghadia said.

“I had no idea how it got there, and I told the bank, but I did go and spend it.”

Ghadia at the time denied knowing where the gold was and making the cash withdrawals. In September, he pleaded guilty, but had six other charges withdrawn by the DPP.

He will return to court in December to be sentenced.