Travis Austerberry jailed after guilty plea to massive theft

Travis Austerberry, 40, stole $479,695 from Belvoir Park Golf Club (BPGC) over a two-and-a-half year period to fuel his personal "gambling disorder" which had "gotten out of control" by the time he was apprehended.

Austerberry pleaded guilty to one rolled up charge of theft which included 271 separate incidents where he funnelled money from BPGC into his own bank account which he then spent in more "significant and increasing quantities".

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The court heard Austerberry, who was a certified practising accountant by trade, used his position as treasurer of the club to gain access to an "unlimited" pool of funding.

The man would transfer money from the club's account to his own as a "tax-related" payment.

However, given the club's two-fold authentication model for processing payments, he needed a second person to okay the transfer.

Austerberry would then sign in as a second person, whose details were "auto-filled" into the club's computer, and approve the payment.

He would then take some of the money which was sent to his account and pay it into the ATO, which in turn would then send a portion of the funds back to the club's account.

The court heard Austerberry was forced to stop using this method after the second person - whose details were being used without their knowledge - left the club.

The scheme was only discovered after some club members raised a question about a $27,000 "tax" fee which launched an audit and exposed the scam Austerberry was operating.

The former accountant ran this system from April 2020 to November 2022.

Over the time of the offending, he stole $479,695 of which more than $104,500 was returned to the club from the ATO as a "tax repayment".

This meant there was still $365,320 left outstanding to the club.

Insurance has paid out for most of the losses which left $12,500 still outstanding, an amount Austerberry must repay top the club as restitution.

Austerberry was arrested in April 2023 where he admitted the crime to police and said he had suffered from a 20-year addiction to gambling, in particular sports gambling.

Johnathon Brancato, the defence lawyer for Austerberry, said his client had started gambling in his late teens but as he earned more money later in life the amount he would spend on sporting events grew.

Mr Brancato said part of the problem with Austerberry's addiction was the perks he would receive from the betting agencies, including corporate box seats at sports events and thousands of dollars to bet with as rewards for his loyalty.

The court heard Austerberry's gambling problem led to his "ultimate demise" and had cost him his relationships with his partner, his sisters and his sons.

Judge Geoff Chettle recognised the man suffered from a "longstanding" problem which started with betting on the horses and eventually leading to Austerberry betting on "everything" he could.

"The more you earned, the more you gambled," Judge Chettle said.

Judge Chettle said he recognised Austerberry was addicted to the "rush of winning" and was always looking for that "next big win".

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Austerberry has not gambled since November 2022 and has sought treatment for his problem which Judge Chettle said did not "mitigate" his offending but showed his attempts to curb his issues.

Judge Chettle labelled the crimes a "gross breach of trust" against the club and its members and Austerberry only stopped when he was found out.

The club is still operating, but has had to cancel many of its planned capital works due to the lack of funds.

Austerberry was convicted and sentenced to three years' imprisonment of which he must serve at least two years before being eligible for parole.

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