The Snitch: Fadi’s dentist’s other million dollar drama

What’s the other million dollar drama facing Fadi Ibrahim’s dentist? Who’s the jewel of a witness in a jewellery heist case? And what’s the bodycount in the Bruce Lehrmann sage? The Snitch is here.

Fadi Ibrahim’s dentist has more money troubles than it originally appeared.

Cosmetic dentist William “Bill” Zafiropoulos is not only being sued by Fadi in the NSW Supreme Court for $4m over several property developments in Arncliffe, he also claims his accountant took $1.5m of his money and was preparing to nick off to Greece.

Dr Zafiropoulos has launched his own Supreme Court case against his accountant Anastasios Fragogianis.

The dispute relates to a $1.5m tax refund that Mr Fragogianis was managing for Dr Zafiropoulos in 2019. But the court heard Dr Zafiropoulos claims he never got the money back. Dr Zafiropoulos’ s lawyers claimed in court that the accountant told him “he had some “involvement” in constructing a hotel on “the island of Mytilene” in Greece” (Mytilene is actually on the island of Lesbos) and that he was planning to move his family over there.

The accountant denied this in court. He also detailed his own troubles, which included money dramas that resulted in the fire sale of their family home and the cancelling of his accountancy licence.

The accountant told the court that Dr Zafiropoulos had asked him to hold the $1.5m “in trust” as protection against another civil legal proceedings he was embroiled in.

Fadi Ibrahim. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gaye Gerard

Dr William Zafiropoulos. Picture: Facebook

Dr Zafiropoulos has since launched legal action demanding repayment of $1.65m and claims the accountant has been hiding assets in the names of other people. He also had his lawyers fire off several tersely worded correspondence to the accountant.

This included one that was read to the court: “We wish to make unequivocally clear that our clients hold you directly accountable for the restitution of the misappropriated funds.”

This month, The Sunday Telegraph revealed that Fadi – a one-time patient of Dr Zafiropoulos – was suing the dentist. In his court documents, Fadi claims Dr Zafiropoulos still owes him $4m after he gave the dentist $11m to hold for him. The dentist claims in his defence documents that he has squared all his pressing debts with Fadi, but still owes him more than $1 million.

Whatever the truth, it has been a bruising period for the dentist. In 2023, Dr Zafiropoulos was attacked with a hammer by masked men inside his practice while he was with a patient.

There is no suggestion Fadi had any involvement or that the attack was related to anything mentioned above.

JEWEL OF A WITNESS

In January, the NSW Supreme Court was told a key witness against Sydney jeweller Michel Germani in his “fake robbery case was a serial fraud who had an 88-page criminal record – and it is now set to get even longer.

On April 22, Joseph Esber – who is sometimes known as Ibrahim Abdou – is listed for sentencing in Parramatta District Court after he pleaded guilty to four dishonesty charges, including obtaining property and a financial advantage by deception.

He is one of the key witnesses against Germani, who has denied police charges of orchestrating a $2.8m heist of his Germani Jewellery store in the Sydney CBD in January 2023.

Jeweller Michel Germani and his wife Coco. Mr Germani has been charged over allegedly faking a break-in at his shop. Picture: Facebook

Police documents tendered to the NSW Supreme Court two months ago, when Germani was refused bail, said Esber contacted investigators on January 11, 2023. Esber claimed that Germani was “actively seeking persons to commit a robbery” at his George St jewellery store in Sydney’s CBD “to make a fraudulent insurance claim”, the documents said.

Esber told the officers he rejected the offer to commit the fake robbery.

Germani’s lawyer Mark Carmody said: “The Crown case against Mr Germani ... is a circumstantial one. (He) absolutely denies the allegations and will be defending the charges at trial.”

BRUCE’S BODY COUNT

The body count from the Bruce Lehrmann saga now sits at 10. The case has been mowing down careers for about three years now.

It seems anyone who comes in contact with it ends up having their names dragged through the media, or worse.

Victims nine and 10 included media identities Steve Jackson and Taylor Auerbach.

Taylor Auerbach (left) and Bruce Lehrmann.

Jackson lost the job as NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb’s media adviser, and Auerbach got punted from Sky News.

This came after public fallout, which included the alleged use of Thai massages (which it has been reported that Jackson didn’t know about) to help get Lehrmann over the line for an interview while the pair worked at Channel 7.

The saga started with Brittany Higgins, who waived her right to anonymity to face the public blowtorch after making rape allegations.

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