By Melissa Cunningham and Cameron Houston
A financial planner who stole almost $4.5 million from family and friends to fund a “voracious” gambling addiction has been sentenced to more than seven years’ jail, as a judge called the behaviour of online betting agencies that fed his habit “evil”.
Anthony Del Vecchio, 32, pleaded guilty to 24 charges of obtaining financial advantage by deception in the County Court of Victoria after operating a private Ponzi scheme from February 2020 until December 2023 while employed by Freedom Finance Australia.
Financial planner Anthony Del Vecchio defrauded almost $4.5 million from his former partner, cousins, primary school friends and several clients of Freedom Finance Australia to fund a “voracious” online gambling addiction.
Del Vecchio persuaded some of his closest friends and relatives to invest in the sharemarket or fixed-term deposit funds, often using falsified documents with the Freedom Finance Australia letterhead.
He promised the non-existent short-term investments would yield big returns. However, all the funds were paid into Del Vecchio’s private Commonwealth Bank account, which he used to gamble across 52 online betting accounts, turning over $10 million.
The case has placed a spotlight on the conduct of online gaming operators and their apparent failure to query how Del Vecchio could afford to place bets of up to $20,000 a day.
In handing down her sentence, Judge Gabriele Cannon said that while Del Vecchio’s moral culpability was high and his behaviour callous, the conduct by the betting agencies as he gambled away extraordinary amounts of money over three years was “evil” and “staggering”.
Cannon named several major betting agencies, including MintBet, Neds, Ladbrokes, PointsBet , TAB, BlueBet, PalmerBet, Southern Cross Bet, EliteBet and VicBet, which pocketed large profits from Del Vecchio over three years.
She said that as Del Vecchio deposited more money and made bigger wagers, there was never a time when any of the gambling services questioned his conduct, nor were any limits placed on his bets.
The 32-year-old pleaded guilty to 24 charges of obtaining financial advantage by deception in the County Court of Victoria.
“The various betting agencies were apparently happy to take that money without any qualm or enquiry,” Cannon said. “Such business practices by these betting companies embody the expression, ‘the banality of evil’, in my view.
“It is staggering that they are able to operate in our community in the ways that I have described with impunity.
“So much for their slogan, ‘gamble responsibly’.”
More than eight betting agencies provided Del Vecchio with “VIP managers”, who would offer free tickets to sporting events and incentives to pressure him to re-invest his money again and again following a win.
Some betting agencies would call and text him daily, the court heard.
If Del Vecchio did not place a bet or deposit money for a period of time, he would also be bombarded with push notifications offering deals, which pressured him to bet and deposit more money.
Cannon said that while she accepted Del Vecchio had a “raging” gambling addiction, this was more an explanation, rather than an excuse.
“Your offending went beyond opportunistic,” Cannon said. “You actively sought out victims who could ill afford to part with that money … sometimes their entire life savings.
“In a number of instances, you were persistent … retuning to victims again and again in order to defraud them again.”
Del Vecchio, who appeared by video link from jail, remained expressionless for much of the lengthy hearing but when his custodial sentence was read out, he lowered his head as his father wiped away tears.
In one instance, Del Vecchio stole thousands of dollars from a woman whose daughter was being treated for cancer.
In another case, he stole more than $1.1 million from a family friend, promising to invest the money in a term-deposit investment that would yield big returns.
Del Vecchio also stole more than $73,000 from his then-long-term partner, and went on to convince her father, family and friends to invest thousands of dollars into his Ponzi Scheme.
He also defrauded colleagues and several clients of Freedom Finance Australia, including fleecing a couple in their 60s of $93,000 after they sought advice about structuring their superannuation and retirement funds.
Cannon said Del Vecchio’s once close and happy family had imploded once his offending came to light. She said many of his victims felt humiliation, shame and guilt.
“The only person who should be feeling such emotions is you, Mr Del Vecchio,” Cannon said.
Del Vecchio initially started gambling $100 a week on online racing and sports betting apps.
But as his gambling habit spiralled out of control, he began increasingly using his clients’ funds to try to chase losses and claw back money.
By the end of his crime spree, he was gambling away thousands of dollars per bet with several bets made each day.
Anthony Del Vecchio’s cousin, Michael Del Vecchio, and his partner, Jade (left), who lost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
When he was arrested, Del Vecchio told investigators he was “in too deep and the stress was incomprehensible”, and he was trying to win enough money to pay his victims back.
On Wednesday, Del Vecchio’s many victims packed into the County Court for his sentencing. Dozens embraced after his sentence was read out.
One of the victims, Del Vecchio’s cousin, Michael Del Vecchio, previously told the court it had been the “most sickening experience” of his life, and Del Vecchio’s conduct had “blown our family apart”.
He lost $207,000 to his cousin’s Ponzi scheme. Other former clients said they felt betrayed by Freedom Finance Australia and intended to fight them for compensation.
Del Vecchio was sentenced to seven years and six months’ imprisonment and will be eligible for parole in four years.
In March, Australia’s largest online gambling company conceded it had not done enough to prevent financial crime or assist sporting bodies in identifying integrity threats.
Sportsbet chief executive Barni Evans told an industry conference in Sydney earlier this year the company had initially done “a terrible job” of alerting sporting bodies to betting transactions that might have posed serious integrity threats.
He said the company “forgot to do some grown-up things” and had “stuffed a lot of things up”.
“That took three or four years to catch on and a few incidents to alarm us, or shock us into [realising], actually, we have got a role to play here, and we can help sports do a much better job,” he said.
Freedom Finance Australia did not respond to requests for comment.
Gambler’s Help: 1800 858 858; Lifeline: 13 11 14.
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.