Anthony Del Vecchio fronts court over $4.4m investment fraud that targeted family and friends
A big shot gambler who conned his family and friends into handing him $4.4m on the guise of investing the money was allocated “VIP managers” by betting agencies.
South East
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An award-winning Melbourne financial adviser who tricked his family and friends into giving him $4.4m to be invested but used the money on gambling instead has been jailed for at least four years.
Anthony Del Vecchio, 32, from Mulgrave, conned dozens of victims over nearly three years including his girlfriend, his cousins, work colleagues and a couple whose child had cancer to sink his ill-gotten gain at 52 betting agencies between February 2020 and December 2023.
He lied that he would invest their savings into term deposits, bonds and shares.
Del Vecchio’s offending came to light after he was fired by his employer Freedom Finance Australia in October 2023.
He pleaded guilty last month to 24 charges of obtaining a financial advantage by deception and fronted the County Court for sentencing on Wednesday.
Judge Gabriele Cannon said Del Vecchio’s offending involved a vast sum of money and a substantial number of victims who, in most if not all cases, could not afford to part with their money.
“You chose to do so on occasions knowing that particular victims had particular needs for their hard earned money. But apparently your need to gamble or use the money for your own benefit was your priority,” she said.
“Effectively your extended family, which was once a close and happy unit, has imploded.”
Judge Cannon said Del Vecchio was allocated a specific client or “VIP manager” by as many as 10 gambling agencies, including TAB.
The agencies could contact him after he had placed large bets and offered him tickets to sporting events as well as bonus bets.
She said there was never a time when any gambling service questioned his conduct or placed any limit on the amounts he could bet which demonstrated the extraordinary sums of money involved in his gambling.
“It’s staggering that they are able to operate in our community with impunity. So much for the slogan ‘gamble responsibly’,” she said.
Judge Cannon said in a number of cases, Del Vecchio was persistent and returned to the victims in order to further defraud them.
His total sentence is seven years and six months.
Del Vecchio won the Freedom Finance Australia’s associate adviser of the year award in 2019.
