Fraudster who obtains 103K in wedding deposit fronts court
A cruel fraudster took the money paid by loved-up couples planning their special day at a Victorian winery and blew some of it at Crown before he attempted to flee the country.
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A fraudster who stole more than $100,000 from loved-up couples planning their weddings while he worked as the operation manager at a winery in the state’s north blew some of his ill-gotten gains at Crown before he attempted to leave the country.
Maroun El-Asmar duped 13 couples and fraudulently obtained $106,797 over a two-week period in July and August 2022.
Known as Mario, the 43-year-old committed the fraud while working at All Saints Estate near Corowa on the Victorian border.
He pleaded guilty in the County Court at Wodonga on Wednesday to 13 charges of obtaining a financial advantage by deception and will be sentenced on Friday.
The wedding couples were deceived into believing their deposits were going into the Estate’s account. Instead, money was being channelled into El-Asmar’s Bendigo Bank account.
The estate honoured the payments to the victims even though it was not aware of El-Asmar’s fraud and did not receive any of the fraudulently obtained funds.
Records show that between August 5 and 17, 2022 El-Asmar withdrew $12,255 from ATMs at Crown and between June and August, he transferred $27,355 into playup, interactive and Australia sports racing and betting company.
Crown Casino records show his loyalty member was used between August 5 and 8 and recorded a loss of $25,789 and a further loss of $8644 a week later.
On Aug 27, 2022 he was arrested by the Australian Federal Police while attempting to leave the country at Melbourne Airport and was brought to the Broadmeadows police station for questioning.
All Saints Estate director Eliza Brown read out her victim impact statement in court and spoke about the significant emotional and financial El-Asmar’s criminal offending has had on her business.
“One of the primary emotional impacts has been a sense of betrayal. We trusted this person, he took advantage of our well-meaning personalities,’’ she said.
“We felt vulnerable and exposed with feelings of embarrassment, shame and self doubt. It’s difficult to trust others, or make business decisions.”
Ms Brown said staff members have left the business her family and employees worked hard to build for more than 20 years due to the stress the fraud has had on them.
Many of their customers have cancelled weddings as they felt the trust was gone and the business has also seen a decline in future bookings and revenue, she said.
“We’ve always prided ourselves as being a company that is honest and trustworthy but the defendant’s actions have made it very difficult for us,” Ms Brown said.
The court heard from his lawyer that El-Asmar had a serious gambling disorder and hid his crime from family and friends.
It was submitted that he began living a life of seclusion in Alexandra and sought help from Gamblers Anonymous Australia.
His sister who works in the Middle East is willing to pay the money her brother fraudulently obtained.
Judge Peter Rozen has ordered an assessment on El-Asmar’s suitability for a community corrections order.
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