Dodgy Bauen Concrete director Jaicome Spinella dumped $3.1 million through Ladbrokes

A thieving Maribyrnong gambler blew $3.1 million on the punt in just seven months. And the bumbling businessman took a whole company down with him.

Jaicome Spinella blew more than $3.1 million through his Ladbrokes account in just seven months.

A former company director rorted more than $3 million which he dumped through his online gambling account in just seven months.

Jaicome Spinella pleaded guilty in the County Court on Monday to a rolled-up charge of obtaining financial advantage by deception.

Spinella, a former co-director of Melbourne concreting business Bauen Concrete Pty Ltd, siphoned $3,131,718.82 of company dough into his Ladbrokes’ account between December 2016 and July 2017.

The degenerate gambler was solely responsible for Bauen finances when he used the company’s credit card to swindle the cash into his Ladbrokes’ account.

Spinella, of Maribyrnong, began small with just two $220 payments but his thieving quickly ballooned with the dud punter making 150 payments totalling $1,086,450 in June 2017 alone.

Spinella made a total of 569 payments between December 2016 and July 2017.

The court heard the company had been successful, having grown from having one employee in November 2015 to 55 staff in July 2017.

Bauen also made about $5.6 million in sales between January and March 2017.

But it was forced to go into liquidation on July 21, 2017 shortly after Spinella confessed his crime to his co-director and they realised the company was insolvent.

When Spinella was later interviewed by Australia Securities and Investment Commission officers he told them his first couple of payments to Ladbrokes on the company card were an accident, because it looked identical to his personal one.

But he admitted he then ‘lent’ himself $3.13 million.

He told the investigators his gambling had escalated as he tried to pay back what he’d already taken.

Spinella will be sentenced on May 7.

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