“Strangely unsophisticated”: Coles executive caught stealing $1.9 million

Source: Reuters/Loren Elliott

Former Coles Online executive Aaron Baslangic, who stole $1.9 million from the retailer, has pleaded guilty at the Melbourne Magistrate Court to deception.

According to the Guardian, Judge Duncan Allen described Baslangic’s conduct as “strangely unsophisticated, bizarre and inexplicable” and added, “brazen, that’s one word for it. The other word is incredibly stupid”.

“A year 12 student could have worked out where this money was going.”

In 2019, Baslangic made 14 illegal payments ranging from $10,000 to more than $400,000 to fictitious businesses with a bank account in his name while others were sent to the Australian Taxation Office which were then redirected into eight different personal bank accounts.

When payments were above his approval limit of $75,000, he then altered emails to create the impression that his supervisor approved the transfer.

The money he siphoned was splurged on rental properties, luxury brands such as Cartier, Jimmy Choo, and Louis Vuitton, and on a lease for a BMW car.

Although Baslangic has repaid Coles more than $1.3 million, he has still pleaded guilty to “two charges of obtaining property by deception, financial advantage by deception and making a false document”.

The judge has ordered Baslangic to undergo psychiatric testing to assess his mental health before the next hearing on August 9 where he is likely to be sentenced.

This article was first published by Inside Retail.

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