James Bambino allegedly sold non-existent AFL Grand Final tickets for as much as $700 each
A man pocketed $26,000 by fleecing dozens of AFL fans with fake tickets to last year’s Grand Final, a court has heard.
Police & Courts
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A fake scalper who swindled cash from footy fans for imaginary AFL grand final tickets plans to plead guilty as he fears for his safety after allegedly receiving death threats from his victims.
James Bambino, 24, has been charged with scamming $26k cash from punters who paid him for 72 tickets he claimed to be selling to the 2022 clash between Geelong and Sydney at the MCG.
But the Mill Park man never came up with the goods and now faces 38 charges, including of obtaining financial advantage by deception and dealing with proceeds of crime.
In the week leading up to the match, he allegedly pocketed an average of $365 for every fake ticket sold, but duped one person out of as much as $700 for one ticket.
On a single day on September 18, police have accused Mr Bambino of stealing almost $10,000 by flogging 28 tickets that the buyers never received.
And even on the day of the grand final, charge sheets allege that he was transferred $1600 for four tickets.
His solicitor Laurie Irvine told Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court that Mr Bambino “has been receiving death threats – him and his family – from some of the victims in this matter”.
While stating that Mr Bambino intended to plead guilty and would seek a psychological assessment, Mr Irvine asked that his July plea hearing be held online “for the safety of my client and his family”.
But Magistrate Meagan Keogh said the expectation due to the severity of the charges was that he appeared in person, and stated that the court had security officers on site.
“If there’s a security issue, whether real or perceived, let us know about that and we’ll manage that as we ordinarily would,” Her Honour said.
Mr Bambino will return to Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court for an hour-long guilty plea on July 6.
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