Liam Turbett: Crown Casino Guess manager stole $21k from luxury brand

A former shop manager at Crown Casino stole more than $20k by using faked loyalty points and dirty transactions. See how he did it.

Crown Casino, Southbank. Picture: David Crosling

A young Crown Casino shop manager with a taste for luxury goods has targeted a customer rewards system to steal thousands in products from his employer.

Liam Turbett, 32, faced the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court and pleaded guilty to faking Crown Reward points and dishonestly obtaining Guess Crown Casino property valued at $21,165.

Court documents reveal the former Guess manager used the Crown Rewards program to pay multiple items using fake points, including three T-shirts and two purses, which he later sold on eBay.

In CCTV seen by police Turbett bought a Heat-Sealed Puffa Jacket valued at $299.95 using the fraudulent points.

He later refunded it for cash while he counted the till.

According to court documents an error in the Guess sale system allowed the then manager to go undetected and steal $21,156 worth of goods between September 2017 and December 2018.

In an interview with police in July 2019 he admitted to making fake transactions in store to return some items for cash and selling others online through eBay.

The Guess products sold on eBay were worth $15,000.

Documents reveal he told police he was using the extra cash to help pay everyday bills.

The court heard he had moved to Australia from the UK after meeting his partner and started working as the Guess store manager a short time later.

He was fired from the Crown Casino shop on Christmas Eve 2018 and now lives with his partner in Mildura and continues to work in retail.

Turbett has been sentenced to a 15-month community corrections order under supervision, 150 hours of community work and ordered to repay $21,165 to Guess.