By The Guardian (World News) | Created at 2024-09-24 06:15:16 | Updated at 2024-09-30 11:40:19
6 days ago
A man who organised a crowdfund campaign to support an alleged murder victim’s family squandered the money to fuel his gambling addiction, a court has found.
Lachlan Morganti, 22, pleaded guilty in Ballarat magistrates court to the theft of more than $64,000 from the online fundraiser in April.
Morganti had come up with the idea to start a GoFundMe page for the family of 23-year-old Hannah McGuire, whose body was found in a burnt-out car in Scarsdale, about 25km south of Ballarat, on 5 April.
Her former partner Lachlan Young, 21, has been charged with her murder and has pleaded not guilty.
The fundraising campaign raised $64,541.75, but Hannah’s mother, Debbie McGuire, never saw a cent in her account.
“Not only did the accused violate our trust, but he had a complete disregard for and betrayal of the trust and generosity of an entire community,” McGuire said, reading her victim impact statement to the court.
“Instead of the focus being on Hannah’s devastating circumstances of her death, it was diverted elsewhere.”
McGuire chose to read her impact statement from the witness box, opting to face Morganti as she spoke.
“One of the community members described the accused as ‘vile’ at the time; I thought it was harsh,” she said.
“However, after some thought, I don’t think I could describe his behaviour any other way.”
The court was told Morganti struggled with mental health issues and a gambling addiction since the age of 18, and at the time the funds hit his account in April, he had already blown $10,000 of his superannuation on gambling.
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The theft hit hard in the tight-knit community of Ballarat, where Hannah McGuire was one of three women killed in alleged violent attacks at the start of the year.
“We won’t ever be able to spend the money in the way we intended. It’s gone, and we’ll never get it back,” her mother told the court.
“I feel incredibly heartbroken for those who financially contributed at a time when they felt helpless and didn’t know what else they could do for us.”
Morganti will be sentenced on 1 October.
