Shocking revelation: Former Coles executive confesses to stealing $1.9 million
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What would make someone who seemingly had everything compromise their reputation, career, and freedom?
That was the question raised in court when a judge tried to wrap his head around the puzzling fraud case of a former Coles executive.
At a time when many of us are tightening our belts and doing our best to live within our means, it's always disappointing to hear about cases of greed and fraud.
That's exactly what's happened recently with a former Coles executive who has admitted to stealing a staggering $1.9 million from the supermarket giant.
What's even more surprising is that the judge presiding over the case has described the crime as ‘inexplicable and unsophisticated’ and has ordered the defendant to undergo psychiatric testing.
Meet Aaron Baslangic, a former Finance Executive at Coles, who orchestrated 14 illegal payments ranging from $10,000 to more than $400,000 in early 2019.
In his position, he had the authority to approve payments up to $75,000. However, when payments were above his approved limit, he altered emails in an attempt to deceive his supervisor into thinking the transfers had their approval.
The story gets even stranger. Most of the payments involved fake businesses with bank accounts in Baslangic's own name. He also funnelled money through the Australian Taxation Office and directed it into his personal accounts.
Further still, he sent cash to real estate agents he was renting a property from, to a BMW dealership to pay off his leased car, and even to the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Baslangic also splurged around $200,000 on luxury shopping sprees featuring brands such as Jimmy Choo, Cartier, Burberry, and Louis Vuitton.
The rest of the money was left sitting in a bank account until he was finally caught.
Earlier this month, Baslangic pleaded guilty to two charges of obtaining property by deception, financial advantage by deception, and making a false document.
He appeared in court via video link, dressed in prison greens, and spent most of the hearing with his head low and in his hands.
Despite the grim implications of his actions, Baslangic has managed to pay back more than $1.3 million to his former employer. The presiding judge, Duncan Allen, has expressed shock and disbelief at Baslangic's actions, which he's labelled ‘strangely unsophisticated, bizarre, and inexplicable’.
‘Brazen, that's one word for it. The other word is incredibly stupid,’ Allen said.
‘A year 12 student could have worked out where this money was going.’
It was reported in court that Baslangic hails from a highly educated family in Turkey – his father was a journalist, and his mother was a bank worker.
He holds an electronic engineering degree and earned a Master of Business Administration after migrating to Australia.
During the time of his offences, Baslangic's wife was struggling with a degenerative disease, rendering her unable to work and putting their relationship under immense strain.
Although the court has been informed of some mental health issues Baslangic faces, Judge Allen has ordered further psychiatric testing in an effort to better understand the reasons behind this mind-boggling crime and the state of the defendant's mental health.
The case is set to return to court on August 9th, and we'll be watching, with great interest, members.
As always, we encourage you to share your thoughts about the case with us in the comments below.
That was the question raised in court when a judge tried to wrap his head around the puzzling fraud case of a former Coles executive.
At a time when many of us are tightening our belts and doing our best to live within our means, it's always disappointing to hear about cases of greed and fraud.
That's exactly what's happened recently with a former Coles executive who has admitted to stealing a staggering $1.9 million from the supermarket giant.
What's even more surprising is that the judge presiding over the case has described the crime as ‘inexplicable and unsophisticated’ and has ordered the defendant to undergo psychiatric testing.
A judge said the scheme was so unsophisticated a student could have ‘worked it out’. Credit: Tima Miroshnichenko/Pexels
Meet Aaron Baslangic, a former Finance Executive at Coles, who orchestrated 14 illegal payments ranging from $10,000 to more than $400,000 in early 2019.
In his position, he had the authority to approve payments up to $75,000. However, when payments were above his approved limit, he altered emails in an attempt to deceive his supervisor into thinking the transfers had their approval.
The story gets even stranger. Most of the payments involved fake businesses with bank accounts in Baslangic's own name. He also funnelled money through the Australian Taxation Office and directed it into his personal accounts.
Further still, he sent cash to real estate agents he was renting a property from, to a BMW dealership to pay off his leased car, and even to the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Most of the suspicious activity involved fictitious businesses with a bank account under his name. Credit: Kindel Media/Pexels
Baslangic also splurged around $200,000 on luxury shopping sprees featuring brands such as Jimmy Choo, Cartier, Burberry, and Louis Vuitton.
The rest of the money was left sitting in a bank account until he was finally caught.
Earlier this month, Baslangic pleaded guilty to two charges of obtaining property by deception, financial advantage by deception, and making a false document.
He appeared in court via video link, dressed in prison greens, and spent most of the hearing with his head low and in his hands.
Despite the grim implications of his actions, Baslangic has managed to pay back more than $1.3 million to his former employer. The presiding judge, Duncan Allen, has expressed shock and disbelief at Baslangic's actions, which he's labelled ‘strangely unsophisticated, bizarre, and inexplicable’.
‘Brazen, that's one word for it. The other word is incredibly stupid,’ Allen said.
‘A year 12 student could have worked out where this money was going.’
It was reported in court that Baslangic hails from a highly educated family in Turkey – his father was a journalist, and his mother was a bank worker.
He holds an electronic engineering degree and earned a Master of Business Administration after migrating to Australia.
During the time of his offences, Baslangic's wife was struggling with a degenerative disease, rendering her unable to work and putting their relationship under immense strain.
Although the court has been informed of some mental health issues Baslangic faces, Judge Allen has ordered further psychiatric testing in an effort to better understand the reasons behind this mind-boggling crime and the state of the defendant's mental health.
As always, we encourage you to share your thoughts about the case with us in the comments below.
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