Scum fraudster Brian Wilson pleads guilty to obtain financial advantage by deception
A devious Melbourne grifter stole $1.9 million off an elderly retiree which he burned on an extravagant horse racing splurge.
South East
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A “reprehensible” scoundrel who stole almost $2 million to fund a degenerate gambling splurge has been jailed.
Brian Wilson, 55, was sentenced in the County Court on Tuesday to a minimum three-year jail term after pleading guilty to multiple rolled-up financial advantage by deception charges.
Wilson cosied up to an elderly retiree after noticing the 82-year-old had put his $1.6m family home on the market.
The fraudster buddied up to the retiree by helping him with chores and other tasks including helping the victim move into a retirement village.
The victim, who found Wilson “very helpful and friendly”, told the fraudster how much he sold his home for.
Wilson then concocted a series of bogus business deals he had cooking but wanted his victim’s cash for “financial backing”.
The court heard Wilson told his victim he had lucrative cleaning contracts with Brimbank Council, Metricon Homes and a Tafe.
Wilson also spewed lies about other bogus ventures including cleaning businesses in Ballarat and Geelong and shonky deals involving milk cleaning chemicals, waterjet cutting equipment and a car sale.
Wilson gleaned $1,915,000 from the victim between October 2018 and September 2019.
The court heard Wilson kept his victim on the dangle with false promises of shared profits and handed the victim multiple dodgy cheques which all bounced.
Wilson later became “aggressive” when the victim asked for just $18,000 back.
Wilson, who called the victim a “f**king asshole” and “piece of shit”, told the retiree to “stay away” and “not talk to him again”.
Wilson also told the victim he could go “into the bankruptcy list just like
everybody else”.
The victim reported Wilson to police who interviewed Wilson in November 2019.
Wilson denied the offending but admitted cash given to him was funnelled through his TAB, Sportsbet and BetEasy accounts.
Investigators analysed Wilson’s bank records which revealed the cash had been transferred the multiple betting agencies and Ladbrokes.
Police also obtained Wilson’s betting agency financial transaction records which revealed the crook deposited $2,286,911 into his Tab account with a betting turnover of
$10,807,000.
Wilson also plunged $483,091 into Sportsbet with a $6,993,878 turnover, $45,226 into BetEasy with a $440,314 turnover and sunk $13,650 into Ladbrokes.
Investigators interviewed Wilson a second time where they put it to him he bet more than
$20m in a year
“Oh obviously, yeah, that’s the case,” Wilson said.
The victim, in a statement read to the court, said Wilson left him “totally devastated”.
“Since the loss of this money I have constantly worried about how I can survive financially,” the victim said.
“I’m 86 years old and I worked hard all my life … I saved and planned very hard for my retirement and I now find myself worrying about the ability to look after myself for the rest of my life.
Wilson was set to chance his arm at trial but eventually confessed his skulduggery earlier this year.
Judge Trevor Wraight said Wilson “took advantage” of his victim.
“It (the offending) can only be described as reprehensible …,” Judge Wraight said.
“The victim impact statement clearly demonstrates the cruel, self-centred conduct … you befriended an elderly man, who in his own words, says that he was ‘not as sharp as he used to be’.
“You completely took advantage of him, in my opinion you represent the high-end example of this type of deceptive conduct against a particurly vulnerable individual …
“Your moral culpability is also very high.”
Wilson, of Mount Martha, was jailed for a maximum five years and ordered to repay more than $1.5 million still outstanding.
