Damien Mantach, former Victorian Liberal Party director, jailed for fraud

Former Victorian Liberal state director Damien Mantach has been jailed for stealing more than $1.5m from his party.

State Election 2006, Liberal Party State Secretary Damien Mantach at the advertisement campaign launch

Former Victorian Liberal state director Damien Mantach will remain behind bars for at least another two years for defrauding his party out of $1.5 million in an elaborate scam.

Mantach, 42, was sentenced today after pleading guilty to 15 charges of obtaining financial advantage by deception.

Despite facing a maximum possible sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, he received a five-year sentence with a two-year, eight-month non-parole period due to a number of mitigating factors.

Victorian County Court judge Liz Gaynor said the former political heavyweight had been motivated by psychological factors stemming from a troubled marriage and self-esteem issues, rather than “need or greed”.

She detailed how Mantach had used a sophisticated system of setting up bogus companies to falsely invoice the party and one of its major print suppliers ­between 2010 and last year.

“This was protracted, deceitful, deliberate and planned offending,” she said. “It involved a grave breach of trust inherent in your responsible position which also allowed you to camouflage your conduct.”

The crime that shook the Victorian branch of the Liberal Party was exposed in August last year after an internal investigation into election campaign spending revealed discrepancies.

Mantach, who resigned last March, immediately made a full admission and handed the necessary evidence to police himself.

“Your readiness to confess the whole and provide investigators with the necessary material and documentation was quite singular,” Judge Gaynor said.

Judge Gaynor said Mantach had virtually taken a new job as an education support worker in prison, teaching other inmates politics, reading and writing as well as job skills.

While part of the $1.56m Mantach illegally gained was spent on shares, a car and mortgage payments, the bulk — more than $600,000 — went towards buying his wife Jodie a cafe on Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula.

Ms Mantach remained ignorant of her husband’s offending throughout, and divorce proceedings are now underway.

Judge Gaynor said Mantach had struggled with drinking and gambling due to financial pressure, marital problems and the long hours of his job.

He told a psychologist his debts made him feel “inadequate” and he began the fraud to pay them off and give his family financial stability, but then continued to offend.

Mantach did not speak during his half-hour sentencing, watching the judge as she ruled on his fate.

He has already repaid $535,085 and plans to repay more after the property settlement occurs with his divorce.