MGI Golf boss calls for Dylan DiPierdomenico to be jailed over $140K theft

The boss of a golf company says the son of AFL great Robert ‘Dipper’ DiPierdomenico should be jailed after he fleeced $140,000 to fund his gambling addiction.

The boss of a golf company says the son of AFL great Robert “Dipper” DiPierdomenico should be jailed after he fleeced $140,000 to fund his gambling addiction.

Dylan DiPierdomenico, 42, faced the County Court on Monday after he admitted defrauding his former employer, MGI Golf, by funnelling customers’ money into his own bank account through fake PayPal accounts and doctored sale invoices.

The former national sales manager sat in the dock with his head down as his ex-boss, Carrie Edwards-Britt, described how the family business had been betrayed by his deceit and called for him to be jailed.

“He used our business as a place to profit without any consideration of the people he was hurting,” she said as she fought back tears.

“The sad part is that if Dylan had come to us for help we would’ve helped him.

“To us, jail time will hopefully give him time to think about his actions and how they have affected our family and business.”

Ms Edwards-Britt claimed DiPierdomenico’s father told a mutual friend he did not understand why she was so upset as it was “just money, and his son had made us a lot of money”.

“Dylan did not make us money, he did not meet his sales targets,” she said.

The former boss of Dylan DiPierdomenico says he should be jailed after he fleeced $140,000 to fund his gambling addiction. Picture: NewsWire

DiPierdomenico, who pleaded guilty to a single rolled-up charge of obtaining property by deception, took to the witness box to apologise, saying he had hit “rock bottom”.

“It’s a wonderful family business and I betrayed their trust,” he said.

“There’s not a day where I don’t think about how I affected that business.

“It’s something I’ll forever be sorry for.”

He told the court he had since sought help for his addiction and was committed to repaying the stolen money to the company, which is based in Nunawading and specialises in electric caddies.

Between August 2018 and June 2019, DiPierdomenico defrauded the business of $140,716 through 71 fraudulent transactions ranging between $95 and $6860.

He created fake PayPal accounts in the company’s name but using his personal bank account details.

The accused Dylan DiPierdomenico is the son of former AFL player Robert 'Dipper' Di Pierdomenico. Picture: Getty Images

He also created his own invoices or altered legitimate invoices to paying customers to include his own bank details.

DiPierdomenico would then discount products or list them as giveaways before sending them to customers after he received payment.

The deception was uncovered after Ms Edwards-Britt noticed two golf buggies were put through as $0 for a customer.

Further suspicious transactions were discovered before DiPierdomenico was hauled into a meeting where he confessed he had an gambling addiction and stolen about $10,000.

The actual theft was $142,716 which had been entirely gambled.

When accounting for wins, DiPierdomenico’s gambling losses were about $65,000.

He has since repaid $18,000 to MGI Golf.

The court heard DiPierdomenico had struggled with gambling for years, having previously taken out loans to fund his addiction which had nearly cost him his marriage.

Dylan DiPierdomenico, the son of former Hawthorn footballer ’Dipper’, leaves the County Court. Picture: NewsWire

“He kept thinking he could escape the problems of his life with gambling,” his lawyer Hayden Rattray said.

“Of course the gambling increased the problems in his life.

“It became a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

While serious, Mr Rattray said his client’s offending did not warrant a jail term, instead asking judge Richard Maidment to impose a community correction order.

Prosecutor Francesca Holmes said a prison term in combination with a community order was within range.

The court heard DiPierdomenico had failed to disclose his criminal matters to a previous employer but his current employer, an events organiser where he was head of sales, was aware.

He was not supported in court by his father, a star Hawthorn player and AFL Brownlow medallist who became a footy commentator after he hung up his boots in 1991.

DiPierdomenico, who is on bail, refused to comment as he left court with his wife.

He will be sentenced next week.