The brother of a farm owner who used the business's credentials to obtain more than $109,000 in cash and equipment for himself has been described as "a fraud, a thief and a cheat" in court.
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Phillip Fedele, 47, this week pleaded guilty to charges including obtaining property by deception, committed while working on an Eskdale farm between March 2017 and January 2019.
His brother Joseph Fedele owned three farms in Yackandandah, Eskdale and Kancoona, and provided Phillip Fedele with accommodation and $150 per week to live and work at the Eskdale property.
But he took a lot more.
Wodonga Magistrates Court heard the deception started in December 2016 when Phillip Fedele claimed to be the farm director and bought a Massey Ferguson ride-on mower for $3500 from Wiesners in Wodonga, taking possession with the condition he pay online that day
The company spent 12 months trying to get the money, but was never paid.
In March 2017, Joseph Fedele paid $8890 for what he thought was the first in installments for a bridge on the Yackandandah property, but his brother actually used the money for modifications on a stock crate.
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Phillip Fedele then agreed to sell nine cows and 10 calves between August 2017 and July 2018 for a total of $18,750, but kept the money without delivering the animals.
His next deception was with Flower Macklan in Wodonga, where his brother had a line of credit.
Between March and October 2018, Fedele bought a chainsaw for $815, lawn mower spindle for $88, chainsaw for $1340 and ride-on mower for $10,000, but never paid the account.
He sent text messages to Flower Macklan's owner pretending to be his brother, including a screenshot of a fake bank transfer and false claims "Phillip" was in hospital.
Joseph Fedele did a stocktake of the farms when the deceptions came to light and also discovered Phillip Fedele stole two river pumps worth $3000 to sell on Gumtree, a $2000 trailer to give to an ex-employee when he resigned, and cattle yard panels that were then sold for $2500.
Magistrate David Faram said Phillip Fedele was a fraud and would likely send him to jail for the "premeditated, conscious, planned thefts".
Fedele has a history of offences including fraud, obtaining property by deception and falsifying documents going back more than a decade.
"He's admitted theft from his family, he's admitted theft from members of the community. Some of these thefts are considered and intricate," he said.
"There are multiple prior offences for serious dishonesty offences and here we are again."
Mr Faram did not accept the argument from solicitor Mario Vaccaro that the money was only used to continue running the farm.
"He asked for money to help run the property, but he said it wasn't forthcoming," Mr Vaccaro said.
"He was attempting to keep things moving on the farm. He didn't want to be a failure to his brother."
He said Fedele had been treated for mental health issues and felt bad for the victims of his offending, and a psychological report said it would be detrimental for him to be in custody because of his mental state.
The case was adjourned until April to allow Mr Vaccaro to prvide more evidence, and Fedele was allowed to remain on bail.
