Man stole more than $73,000 from Master Builders Association to fund gambling addiction

A man stole more than $70,000 from the Master Builders Association (MBA) for his gambling habit, a behaviour described as creating a “nightmare” for his colleagues.

When sentencing 41-year-old Luke Lowes in the ACT Supreme Court on Tuesday (13 August), Justice David Mossop described Lowe’s offending as driven by his gambling addiction and the “unrealistic expectation” that he could win the money back while gambling.

“Unsurprisingly, the offender lost the money rather than winning it back,” he said.

According to court documents, Lowes was employed by Master Builders Association between November 2021 and October 2022, where he worked as an administration assistant before being promoted to an event coordinator role.

He was one of two employees who had access to the company’s account on the online Eventbrite platform, which the company used to process payment for ticketed events it organised.

However, Lowes would change the bank details recorded on the platform to accounts in his name before changing them back. Over nine months between 2021 and 2022, Lowes stole $73,135.97 via Eventbrite, according to court documents.

A victim impact statement written by MBA CEO Denita Wawn on behalf of the company was read to the court on Tuesday. She wrote Lowe’s “fraudulent activity was bad enough”, but his attempts to cover up his offending were “even more disappointing”.

“Fond friendships had been formed with some staff, and the option to own up was available on many occasions,” she wrote.

“The severity of the impact of Luke’s fraud is not only the money but the betrayal of trust, the ongoing deception – as opposed to owning up – and the nightmare he left for his colleagues.”

Court documents state that after the MBA’s finance manager reviewed the company’s accounts in May 2022 and found an approximately $50,000 discrepancy, Lowes offered to follow up with Eventbrite.

He would send email updates to his colleague, claiming Eventbrite was investigating the missing money.

On 16 September, Lowes forwarded an email to the company’s finance manager, reportedly from ‘Jeremy’, an Eventbrite staff member.

This email claimed a payout of $50,249.07 from Eventbrite had been delayed because of an “administrative error” where “some payments where [sic] not issued correctly”.

However, on 22 September, the MBA’s finance manager contacted Eventbrite and was told the email from ‘Jeremy’ may be fake, according to court documents, as they had no employee with that name.

According to court documents, Lowes had repaid $11,234.15 over four transactions before his arrest, leaving an outstanding amount of $61,901.82.

The matter was ultimately reported to police on 7 October 2023, while Lowes resigned on 21 October. The court heard he did not know there was a police investigation into his behaviour.

In August 2023, Lowes was interviewed by police, where he admitted he stole the money to fund his gambling addiction.

Lowes then pled guilty on 25 March, when the case was being heard in the ACT Magistrates Court.

Lowes was “highly respected” at the MBA before his resignation, and his behaviour had an “acute” effect on the company, Justice Mossop said.

“The offending is distinguished by the gross breach of trust it involved,” he said.

Justice Mossop said that Lowe had “expressed shame and remorse” over his fraud, however, and he had no criminal history.

Lowe was sentenced to an Intensive Corrections Order of two years and one month, as well as 200 hours of community service to be completed in the next 18 months.

The court heard insurance had covered some of the stolen money and Justice Mossop ordered Lowe to repay the outstanding amount of approximately $5400.

If this story has raised any concerns for you, the Gambling Helpline can be called on 1800 858 858, while the Gambling Help Online website gamblinghelponline.org.au has live chat support.

Help and support are also available through Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call Triple Zero.