Augustine Gus Nosti: Moriah College employee charged with $7.4m fraud

The man charged with defrauding a leading Sydney private school out of more than $7m has been pictured for the first time. It comes as police revealed details of the alleged fraud which they described as ‘astronomical’.

Gus Nosti. Picture: Supplied

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The former financial officer of an eastern suburbs private school has been charged by police after allegedly defrauding the institution of more than $7 million over 15 years.

Augustine Nosti – known as Gus – will front court in July on a raft of charges after the discrepancies were picked up by Jewish school Moriah College last year.

In November 2019 the school had successfully applied to the Supreme Court to have his assets frozen in the wake of the alleged fraudulent activity, sparking a six-month long investigation by eastern suburbs command detectives.

Nosti left the school last year after 15 years as its chief financial controller and staff alerted parents to the probe in several letters.

The Queens Park school charged up to $35,000 a year.

Police will allege in court the 57-year-old redirected 402 transactions worth $7.4 million from the school into his personal bank account over a 15-year period.

“They ranged from $2000 to $240,000,” eastern suburbs command crime manager Inspector Gretchen Atkins said of the alleged transactions.

“They were quite astronomical.”

Inspector Atkins said police sought help from the Australian Taxation Office in its investigations of Nosti.

The independent Orthodox Jewish school charges fees up to $35,000 a year and has been top performer in NAPLAN and HSC results in recent years.

In 2017 former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull brought Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the school for a speech, which prompted protests.

The college is currently in the middle of planning for a major $82 million expansion of the at its Queens Park campus.

The proposed works include a new three to four-storey learning facility, a new sports court complex and outdoor gardens.

Gus Nosti pictured on holiday back in 2007. Picture: Supplied

Nosti’s name appears in past Moriah College annual reports, notably from 2016 in which he is thanked for his “commitment and tireless efforts throughout the year”.

It is understood Nosti left the school in March of 2019 and Moriah had employed forensic accountants later that year to pour over its records when the allegedly missing funds were spotted.

“It’s obviously very disappointing for the school … ultimately it has been identified and he will face court,” Insp Atkins said.

“It is disappointing for all involved which is why we take it seriously when we investigate it.”

Moriah principal Rabbi Yehoshua Smukler said in a statement: “We thank the police for their assistance with this matter. We will continue to co-operate with the police as required.”

Nosti was arrested at Waverley police station on Thursday and charged with five counts of dishonestly gain financial advantage by deception.

He will appear in Waverley Local Court on July 7.

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