Anselmo Dragone fronts court over fleecing plant hire companies
A dishonest site foreman pocketed $343k he fraudulently obtained from two plant hire companies for the hire of two excavators that were never delivered.
South East
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A crooked Melbourne foreman who fraudulently charged two businesses $343,000 for the hire of excavators that were never delivered has dodged a stint behind bars because of his poor health.
Anselmo Dragone, 61, of Mornington, tricked Southern Plant Hire and Eastern Plant Hire into paying him $343,055 between May and October 2017 for the hire of two excavators for a property development site in Officer.
At his plea hearing in October, Dragone told the County Court that his mentally stressed wife who totally relied on him for full time care would be homeless if he went to jail.
After his plea hearing, Dragone was diagnosed with skin cancer and he argued a prison sentence would jeopardise his treatment.
Judge Gerard Mullaly sentenced him on Friday to a community corrections order for two-and-a-half years with conviction on two charges of obtaining a financial advantage by deception.
The judge said the couple’s ill-health of, together with significant delay in finalising the case and the fact Anselmo has not offended since charges were laid, meant exceptional circumstances existed for a non-custodial sentence.
The court heard that Symon Bros Constructions of Thomastown employed Dragone in November 2016 as the project manager and site foreman for a residential development in Officer.
As part of the development, the company regularly hired excavators from Southern Plant Hire and Eastern Plant Hire to undertake works for various construction stages of the development.
Southern Plant Hire and Eastern Plant Hire leased equipment from elsewhere and subcontracted them to Symon Bros Constructions.
In 2017, Dragone approached the plant hire companies and provided them with details of two third party companies that he said would provide excavators for the property development site.
He did not disclose his connection to the third party companies.
Between May and October 2017, one of the third party company’s invoiced Eastern Plant Hire for two excavators that were never provided.
Southern Plant Hire made 23 deposits totalling $235,481 into Anselmo’s bank account and a further $107,566 after the other third party submitted an invoice for the excavators.
In October 2017, Symon Bros Constructions realised that the fictitious excavators were working long hours, even in inclement weather and on weekends. The company contacted police after conducting an investigation that revealed no excavators were hired.
Judge Mullaly ordered Anselmo to repay the money he obtained by deception.
