Alleged Highroller Conman Loses $13 Million At Crown Casino

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An alleged high-rolling conman is currently on trial in the Melbourne Magistrates Court after being charged with stealing $1.5 million from banks and financial institutions as part of an elaborate mortgage refinancing fraud. 

Apparently, Gabriel Werden, 45, was also in the process of obtaining a further $2.54 million from lenders when he was arrested in North Melbourne this week.

Speaking in court, Det Sen Const Young said he believed Werden was a “professional fraudster” whose alleged frauds were triggered by his long-term gambling problem. It was also this addiction which inadvertently lead to his capture.

Gabriel Werden is known to have spent over $13 million at the Crown casino in Melbourne, Australia since 1995 but his gambling spree eventually came to a conclusion while at Jupiters Casino on the Gold Coast after cashing a $487,000 bank cheque, the proceeds of which were connected to eight fake passports.

Representing himself in court, Gabriel Werden said he would plead not guilty to the charges, and argued he should be  granted bail as he was not a flight risk.

Magistrate Franz Holzer was not so convinced, though, and was reminded by Det Young that Werden had escaped custody in the past using false passports. He had also escaped from a NSW custody centre before by convincing a guard he was not a prisoner but in fact a solicitor.

Magistrate Franz Holzer concluded that Werden’s alleged offences were “sophisticated, planned … behaviour which involved repeated and gratuitous fraud over a lengthy period of time, on a large scale.”

Werden will now remain in custody until the date of his next court appearance on November 30th,