Dean Pipicelli: Former footy club coach pleads guilty to fraud in County Court

A former Bass Coast footy coach ripped off his mates and elderly boss out of more than half a million dollars to feed his Sportsbet addiction.

Dean Pipicelli pleaded guilty in the County Court on June 11 to nine fraud charges after scamming his mates and boss out of more than $700,000.

A former footy coach turned gambling junkie scammed his mates and elderly boss out of $700,000 to funnel into his Sportsbet account.

Dean Pipicelli, 56, conned five players from the Kilcunda Bass Football Club and his employers at Gippsland Timber out of the eye-watering amount of money over a 12-month-period in 2019 and 2020.

Pipicelli pleaded guilty in the County Court on June 11 to eight charges of obtaining financial advantage by deception and one charge of theft.

The court heard the Waratah Bay dad scammed $700,000 via multiple fraudulent transactions between Gippsland Timber’s bank account and his own, as well as manipulating players from his footy club to transfer him money with the promise of a bigger return.

Pipicelli ran his “simplistic” Ponzi scheme to fuel his gambling addiction and fund his lifestyle in the Bass Coast.

He claimed to be buying and onselling timber for profit, promising significant returns for the victims he tricked into investing.

Pipicelli will return to the County Court next week to be sentenced.

The court heard he drew up false records of sale and dodgy loan agreements in order to swindle his boss and mates after a marriage breakdown exacerbated his gambling addiction.

He even convinced one victim to “keep the sale a secret” from other players at the club in an attempt to cover his tracks.

Pipicelli’s hoax came undone when he was reported to police by one of his victims, after which he sent a text to his boss.

In texts read to the court, he said he was “sorry about everything” and had been “caught up in gambling really badly”.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, his ex-employer said she had been “naive and trusting”.

“I wanted to believe we were giving him an opportunity to be more stable,” the court heard.

The victim said she had begun to grind her teeth so much that she needed a dental implant.

The court heard Pipicelli had since been estranged from his family after his offending came to light, leaving him with deteriorating mental health.

Judge Richard Maidment asked both prosecution and defence teams to return to court on June 20 with sentencing submissions including similar cases for him to consider.

Pipicelli was remanded into custody and will return to court for sentencing on that date.