49 minutes ago
1
Bankrupt accountant Andrew Marshall has admitted siphoning millions of dollars from his former clients and spending it all on an out-of-control online gambling addiction, which his lawyer says betting agencies fuelled with offers of bonus bets and VIP managers.
Outside the Victorian County Court on Monday, one of his victims echoed the same sentiment, accusing betting agencies of turning Marshall into a “full-blown gambling addict”.
Bankrupt accountant Andrew Marshall of Langley McKimmie.
Marshall, a former director and shareholder of Langley McKimmie Accountants in Woodend, pleaded guilty to stealing more than $4 million between 2017 and 2023 to fund his addiction.
His lawyer, Jim McGarvie, likened his addiction to a “deformed delusion” and said the father of two had tried to recover the millions of dollars lost by trying to win back bigger amounts.
McGarvie told the court that as his addiction worsened, Marshall was flooded with offers of bonus bets, thousands of dollars in credits to punt, and assigned VIP managers by betting agencies who frequently called and texted him in a bid to keep him trapped in the frenzy of gambling.
Loading
“He was given offers of bonus bets ... ‘put in $5000 we will give you 100 per cent of that in credits’... just to keep the machine going,” McGarvie said.
The court heard a “staggering” amount of money went to gambling giant Sportsbet, where Marshall frequently made punts on horse racing with stolen funds.
One of his victims, Kym Cavigan, 53, told this masthead earlier this year that Marshall had defrauded her of more than $750,000, and revealed she was launching legal action against Sportsbet.
Marshall is alleged to have moved Cavigan’s life savings between two bank accounts before it was transferred to Sportsbet, where he placed as many as 80 bets a day, ranging from $300 to $66,000.
In June 2023, Cavigan says he arrived at her front door shaking and crying uncontrollably.
“He said, ‘I just want you to know that I’ve done some terrible things, and I’ve stolen clients’ money, and you’re one of them,” she said. “He was crying and sobbing and carrying on and said, ‘You are such good people, and I was trying to win it back’. He said it had all gone to Sportsbet.”
Now, she has also found an unlikely ally in her fight – teaming up with Marshall to compile a dossier aimed at bolstering her case.
Outside court on Monday, Cavigan said she had been left devastated by Marshall’s offending and demanded change of the betting agencies.
“Andrew will go to prison and serve time, but these sport betting agencies need to be accountable,” she said. “They should have stopped him a long time ago. All these millions that went to them, they should have stopped him, and they didn’t. They turned him into a full-blown gambling addict.”
Cavigan said online betting had made the gambling process “too quick and easy; money in and money out”.
She also said that the incentives offered via the betting apps “dangle the carrot, and they get people hooked”.
Kym Cavigan lost more than $800,000 after her accountant gambled away her life savings. She is now taking on wagering giant SportsbetCredit: Simon Schluter
Among Marshall’s victims were elderly pensioners and a woman who was terminally ill with cancer and died before recouping her lost money.
In another case, Marshall stole more than $1.5 million from a client through roughly 90 separate transactions, which went directly into his bank account.
The alarm was first raised when the victim was contacted by the Australian Taxation Office, which advised her to check her bank account. She then discovered roughly $20,000 was being taken every few days by Marshall, the court heard.
Loading
Marshall also admitted losing more than $450,000 to another victim, arriving at her doorstep and telling her: “I’ve done a bad thing.” She said he was “upset and crying”, and believed he was mentally unwell. He promised to pay back the money, and later deposited $1000 into her account.
McGarvie said it was a tragic case for victims who in every instance had their money stolen and squandered by somebody they were entitled to trust with their finances.
He described his client’s conduct as dishonest and reckless, and said Marshall’s family had also been blindsided by his offending.
After his deceit was uncovered, the court heard Marshall had been “clinging on trying to survive” for the sake of his children, and accepted that he would spend years in jail.
The former thoroughbred owner, who was visibly thinner than previous court appearances and arrived on Monday sporting a beard and long, dark hair, pleaded guilty to five charges of theft.
Credit: Wayne Taylor
Marshall’s case could expose Australia’s online betting industry to unparalleled scrutiny and has the potential to establish legal benchmarks for their accountability to customers.
It has also once again placed a spotlight on the conduct of online gambling operators, as experts warn of the predatory tactics betting companies are using to get, predominantly, men hooked to the punt.
Loading
A Melbourne financial planner who stole almost $4.5 million from family and friends to fund a “voracious” gambling addiction was sentenced to more than seven years’ jail earlier this year, as a judge called the behaviour of online betting agencies that fed his habit “evil”.
Anthony Del Vecchio operated a private Ponzi scheme from February 2020 until December 2023 while employed by Freedom Finance Australia.
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.
McGarvie said there were striking similarities between his client’s case and Del Vecchio’s offending.
Marshall was remanded in custody and will reappear in court later this month.
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.
Most Viewed in National
Loading
