Who is Giang? Refugee, charity worker, Cats sponsor and Crown casino royalty

Sy Giang Nguyen appears to have led an extraordinary double life since arriving in Australia as a Vietnamese refugee in the early 1970s, but now his carefully curated worlds have begun to collide, and collapse.

Over two decades, Nguyen has ingratiated himself with some of the nation’s most prominent sporting and corporate figures, had access to a private villa at Crown casino, and became a generous benefactor to Geelong Football Club.

The diminutive information technology manager also juggled long-term relationships with two women in separate cities for more than 20 years.

However, Nguyen’s days of multiple partners, lavish spending and top-tier connections are coming to an end.

Former genU IT operations manager Sy Giang Nguyen (circled) in a past photo with the Geelong team. There is no suggestion others photographed with Nguyen are involved in his alleged behaviour.

This masthead can reveal that Nguyen, and Geelong businessman Keith Greenwood, recently agreed to pay almost $6 million to not-for-profit organisation genU, which had accused the pair of orchestrating a massive fraud, according to a civil claim filed in the Supreme Court of Victoria last year.

Nguyen, who was an IT operations manager at genU, allegedly colluded with Greenwood to siphon up to $14.5 million from the registered charity by buying or leasing thousands of IT products that were never delivered, according to court documents.

Greenwood’s business, Ryrie Office Machines, was also accused of oversupplying and overcharging for IT hardware and software ordered by Nguyen, who had worked for genU since its 2016 founding.

Geelong-based genU is one of the nation’s largest service providers for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, with 5500 staff providing disability, aged care and employment services. It became aware of the alleged fraud in 2021 when an employee detected allegedly suspicious transactions.

GenU chief executive Clare Amies confirmed a confidential settlement had been reached.

“I’m relieved, it’s a good outcome for genU. But we will now pursue other parties, and we will continue to work with Victoria Police,” Amies said.

She insisted the alleged fraud had not affected the organisation’s ability to provide services to the most vulnerable.

Nguyen and his lawyer, Roger Vrachnas, of Gigliotti Lawyers, declined to comment and did not respond to detailed questions.

Greenwood and his lawyer Colin Almond, of HWL Ebsworth Lawyers, did not respond to requests for comment.

RBK Legal lawyer Michael Hazell, who is acting for genU, also declined to comment.

While the civil case has been resolved, Nguyen and Greenwood remain the subject of a long-running police investigation that began in February 2023. Detectives from the financial crime squad arrested and interviewed both men last year, before they were released without charges.

Lawyers for genU are now considering pursuing Geelong Football Club and Crown Resorts, where they claim the pair spent millions of allegedly stolen dollars.

Keith Greenwood at Geelong Football Club.Credit: Facebook

Originally from the UK, Greenwood has been a pillar of the Geelong community for decades and a regular at GMHBA Stadium.

The 75-year-old and his business were long-term sponsors of the Cats, and also major benefactors of a local gallery and theatre company.

The website for Ryrie Office Machines claimed it had been an “integral part of the Geelong Football Club for over a decade” and “synonymous with quality and trust”, according to now-deleted posts on social media.

Nguyen’s connections with the club have been deeper and more complex: financial backer, social co-ordinator, and apparent friend to some of Geelong’s greatest players, including Joel Selwood, Gary Ablett and Steve Johnson.

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When the Cats celebrated their 2009 grand final victory in Las Vegas, Nguyen was in tow and appeared to have been the team’s unofficial photographer.

Gary Ablett and Steve Johnson (front left) with Nguyen in Las Vegas. There is no suggestion others photographed with Nguyen are involved in his alleged behaviour.

His face appears in more than 20 images from the end-of-season trip, often drinking Cointreau with players in private hotel suites, or in the famed nightclubs along the Vegas strip.

During a promotion for the Australian Grand Prix, Nguyen was photographed with Hollywood legend John Travolta and a dozen AFL stars.

Nguyen, John Travolta and AFL royalty. There is no suggestion others photographed with Nguyen are involved in his alleged behaviour.

When Nguyen celebrated his birthday at Crown casino, he was joined by Geelong royalty, a club-themed cake and a Marilyn Monroe impersonator.

As a club sponsor, Nguyen was often invited into the coach’s box and was required to sign a non-disclosure contract before he was welcomed even further into Geelong’s inner sanctum.

Nguyen’s birthday party at Crown casino, which he celebrated with a host of Geelong AFL stars.

His phone records from October 2013 to August 2015 reveal the former IT manager exchanged hundreds of calls and text messages with several players, at least two executives, a former club president and former coach Mark “Bomber” Thompson.

Three-time premiership player Andrew Mackie had 107 calls with Nguyen over that period. The pair maintained their relationship and had 125 calls between 2020 and 2022, when Mackie had retired but was employed by Geelong’s recruitment department.

His network was not confined to footballers. Several calls were made to tennis player Bernard Tomic, NBA star Andrew Bogut and late cricket legend Shane Warne.

This masthead does not suggest anything improper about the communications between Nguyen and the Geelong players, or the calls to other sporting stars.

Nguyen’s bank statements also show he received intermittent payments from several star players, usually for amounts less than $1500.

A source at Geelong Football Club said Nguyen was “incredibly popular” with the players, in part because of his ability to secure complimentary tickets to almost any event in Melbourne.

“It could be the Foo Fighters or the grand prix, but he [Nguyen] could get you tickets and often a box,” said the source who spoke anonymously to protect his relationship with the club.

This masthead does not suggest any wrongdoing by the team, but remains unclear whether Geelong’s administration inquired about the source of Nguyen’s wealth.

In December, this masthead revealed Geelong legend Joel Selwood was named in a contract as the lender of $100,000 to Nguyen, who agreed to pay $10,000 in interest under the proposed deal in 2013.

While the document was signed by Nguyen, Selwood’s signature is not on the version of the contract obtained by this masthead, and it is not known if the loan proceeded.

However, phone records show Selwood and Nguyen were in regular contact in November 2013 when the loan was proposed.

At the time, Selwood’s manager, Tom Petroro, declined to comment.

The Age does not suggest Selwood knew about Nguyen’s allegedly fraudulent scheme or that there was any wrongdoing involved in the loan documents, only that it is unusual for an AFL player to be involved in private financial deals with sponsors without the club’s knowledge.

There is also no suggestion that Selwood had any knowledge of the loan’s purpose.

When Nguyen was arrested and interviewed in August over the alleged fraud of genU, his commitment to the Cats did not falter.

Nguyen tosses the coin before a Geelong-Adelaide AFL game in August.Credit: Fox Footy

Two days after his interaction with detectives, Nguyen greeted Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield and tossed the coin before a match at GMHBA Stadium.

Geelong Football Club did not respond to requests for comment.

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Last month, a 41-year-old woman from the Mornington Peninsula discovered Nguyen had been unfaithful for their entire relationship that began in 2004.

The woman, who asked not to be identified because she wants to end any association with Nguyen, recently found out that he had another partner in Geelong, where they live and have two children together.

She was devastated to learn Nguyen already had a family, after wanting a child of her own for more than 15 years. She had discussed a plan to conceive a child with Nguyen less than two years ago, and made inquiries about undergoing in vitro fertilisation.

Since recently making the difficult decision to sever ties, she has cast her mind back over their 21-year relationship and uncovered a litany of lies.

She says Nguyen told her and her family that he had attended Geelong Grammar before graduating from Melbourne University. In fact, he went to the now defunct Bell Park High School in Geelong, before studying at Deakin University, according to his employment records at genU.

The 58-year-old understated his age by 10 years and claimed to be employed by a Singapore-based digital security company that had an office on Collins Street and included global finance giant Citibank as a client.

She had no idea he had worked for genU, or another registered charity before that.

“The day after our first date, he said he was going to Singapore and I didn’t expect to hear from him again,” she said. “He said he travelled all the time. But it happened for 20 years; he was constantly going to Singapore, Hong Kong and Beijing.

“He lied to me about everything. His job, his family, his life. But it wasn’t just me ... He’s betrayed my whole family.”

In 2023, Nguyen told the woman he was investing in a company that he claimed was developing a mouthguard that could detect the symptoms of concussion.

He asked for her to help fund the venture. She agreed to lend him about $600,000 and refinanced her home.

On June 26 last year, he registered a company with the corporate regulator called Bite Easy Pty Ltd, and appointed himself director and majority shareholder.

Recent correspondence from the company claims the mouthguards will provide “real-time data on head impacts, contributing to the league’s efforts to better understand concussion and refine its management strategies”.

It also claims the mouthguards are being trialled by two AFL clubs.

Nguyen’s former partner said she also lent Nguyen $80,000 in May 2014, which was never repaid. She is poised to launch legal proceedings to recoup a debt of more than $800,000 from Nguyen.

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Nguyen divided his time between Geelong and Melbourne, where he had permanent access to a private villa at Crown casino from at least 2004 until 2022.

He lived like a king, despite earning an average salary from his work with genU, or its predecessor St Laurence Community Services, where he had worked since the 1990s.

His Melbourne base included sprawling living areas replete with a baby grand piano, 12-person dining table, private bar, walk-in robe the size of an average bedroom and an on-call butler. Nguyen’s towels and robe were embossed with his initials.

He was a regular at the casino’s signature teppanyaki restaurant Koko and Melbourne institution Flower Drum, while bank records reveal Nguyen regularly spent more than $5000 at high-end fashion outlet Harrolds at Crown.

In 2015, Nguyen helped set a Guinness World Record when he consumed the world’s most expensive cocktail – a $12,500 drink known as The Winston – at Crown’s former venue Club 23.

Nguyen did not finish the drink, made with 1858-vintage Croizet Cuvee Leonie cognac, and was reimbursed for the entire cost of the cocktail by Crown Resorts.

Nguyen’s connections to Crown Resorts management ran deep.

He was a close friend of Peter Crinis, who held a range of senior roles, including chief operating officer of Crown Hotels, Retail and Food & Beverage over a 23-year career with the gaming giant.

From left: Peter Crinis, Sy Giang Nguyen and Ishan Ratnam. There is no suggestion others photographed with Nguyen are involved in his alleged behaviour.

When Crinis was married in 2012, Nguyen sat at the bridal table. The pair co-owned race horse Lady Daylight.

Crinis left Crown in 2022 and did not respond to requests for comment.

Nguyen was also extremely close to Ishan Ratnam, who held roles including vice-president of VIP gaming and “special assistant” to James Packer, who was Crown’s former executive chairman and major shareholder until 2022. Mr Ratnam left Crown in 2021.

It is not suggested that Crinis, Ratnam or Crown Resorts had any knowledge of Nguyen’s alleged fraud of genU.

This masthead has confirmed with three sources, who did not want to be associated with Nguyen, that he never gambled other than an occasional bet on the horses, or AFL games between Geelong and Hawthorn.

No one has explained why Crown Resorts showered an IT manager from Geelong with the type of largesse usually afforded to visiting dignitaries or Hollywood stars. It is unknown how, or if, he paid for his opulent accommodation.

A Crown Resorts spokeswoman did not respond to questions, but said “these allegations are historical and relate to a period prior to the current ownership of Crown”.

Nguyen was banned from entering the casino in 2022, many of his A-list contacts have turned their backs, and he no longer attends Geelong games at GMHBA Stadium. His gilded lifestyle appears to be over.

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