{"id":849122,"date":"2026-08-09T13:06:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T13:06:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/849122\/"},"modified":"2026-08-09T13:06:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T13:06:26","slug":"bigger-than-the-wolf-of-wall-street-boss-stavro-damore-breaks-down-after-prison-sentence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/849122\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Bigger than The Wolf of Wall Street\u2019 boss, Stavro D\u2019Amore, breaks down after prison sentence"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Sarah<\/p>\n

August 9, 2026 \u2014 4:30pm<\/p>\n

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An Australian financial trader who once described the investment scheme he was involved in as \u201cbigger than\u201d The Wolf of Wall Street sobbed after he was sentenced to at least two years in prison for embezzling nearly $700,000 in client funds.<\/p>\n

For years, Stavro D\u2019Amore \u2013 the muscle-bound boss of one of Australia\u2019s largest trading houses \u2013 cut an intimidating figure, frequently highlighting his gangland connections and flashy lifestyle, including owning several luxury McLaren cars each worth more than $500,000.<\/p>\n

\"MickMick Gatto (left) and Stavro D\u2019Amore.<\/p>\n

But upon learning his sentence relating to the collapse of Berndale Securities late last month, D\u2019Amore was reduced to a quivering mess.<\/p>\n

His sentence, which in total was three years and 10 months with a minimum of 23 months in jail, came after he pleaded guilty to three rolled-up dishonesty charges on the eve of his criminal trial in the Federal Court<\/a>.<\/p>\n

D\u2019Amore, who was once close to underworld figure Mick Gatto, was taken away by Australian Federal Police officers after being allowed to kiss and hug his equally teary 20-something girlfriend.<\/p>\n

Editor’s pick\"Stavro<\/a><\/p>\n

D\u2019Amore once oversaw one of the largest sellers of high-risk financial products that allow people to bet on the stock market or on the prices of other assets like gold.<\/p>\n

Berndale collapsed<\/a> in 2018 amid an investigation by the corporate watchdog, wiping out nearly $9 million of funds invested by people across Australia.<\/p>\n

In February 2025, the liquidator of Berndale \u2013 which borrowed heavily<\/a> from Gatto\u2019s confidant \u201cFat Ange\u201d Venditti before its collapse \u2013 distributed a first and final dividend of 4.5\u00a2 in the dollar to victims.<\/p>\n

The court heard D\u2019Amore embezzled $681,496.98 of clients\u2019 money, using it to fund his own lifestyle and to make huge payments to people who had no connection to Berndale.<\/p>\n

This included transferring $250,000 to associates of then-jailed gangland boss Tony Mokbel<\/a> for the purchase of two luxury Gold Coast apartments.<\/p>\n

\"JonasJonas Vong in one of his bodybuilding competitions. He was an executive at Berndale. <\/p>\n

D\u2019Amore also used Berndale money, the court heard, on a deposit for his apartment in the complex before assigning the contract for sale to the son of a lawyer with extensive ties to organised crime.<\/p>\n

Other money was transferred out to D\u2019Amore personally, to his brother Mario D\u2019Amore and to competitive bodybuilder Jonas Vong \u2013 a Berndale executive who liquidators\u2019 examinations heard in 2020 has an acquired brain injury.<\/p>\n

There is no suggestion Mokbel, Venditti or Gatto had any involvement in the operation of Berndale or knowledge of D\u2019Amore\u2019s offending. Vong and Mario D\u2019Amore have also never been accused of any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

Justice Wendy Abraham said Stavro D\u2019Amore\u2019s offending had an impact on Berndale\u2019s clients and the broader financial markets given Berndale was regulated and held an Australian financial services licence (AFSL).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe transfer was dishonest because it enabled Mr D\u2019Amore to gain an advantage for himself using \u2026 company funds to which he knew he was not entitled,\u201d Abraham said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was ongoing conduct over the course of nearly two years. Mr D\u2019Amore\u2019s disregard for the regulatory obligations imposed by the Corporations Act on AFSL holders, his fiduciary obligations as a director and the interests of Berndale\u2019s clients, was deliberate and blatant.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr D\u2019Amore stood at the apex of the Berndale companies\u2019 management structure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Berndale\u2019s ties to colourful characters were outlined at a public examination of the group\u2019s collapse in 2020, and as part of an investigation by this masthead.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The examinations also revealed Berndale, which was formerly known as Forex TG, had links to other international trading schemes that stood accused of misusing investor money.<\/p>\n

This included that one of Forex TG\u2019s former directors was Yossi Herzog, who is wanted in the United States over securities fraud allegations.<\/p>\n

Another man, Aviv Talmor<\/a>, who was D\u2019Amore\u2019s business partner at Forex TG and later Berndale, is serving a five-year sentence in Israel over his involvement in a dodgy trading scheme.<\/p>\n

It was during this examination that D\u2019Amore was asked about visiting Talmor\u2019s office in Tel Aviv, describing it as \u201cbigger than\u201d The Wolf of Wall Street.<\/p>\n

D\u2019Amore\u2019s shock at his sentence came after a significant bid by his legal team for a non-custodial sentence for his offending.<\/p>\n

\"DanielDaniel Kirby (right), the former director of Berndale Capital Securities.Facebook<\/p>\n

His lawyers told the court that D\u2019Amore had suffered from drug and gambling addictions, as well as other mental health issues including anxiety.<\/p>\n

D\u2019Amore\u2019s lawyers had also attempted to persuade the judge that his co-accused and former business partner, Daniel Kirby<\/a>, who was sentenced to a 12-month stint in jail last year, had been the ringleader of the misconduct.<\/p>\n

Instead, Abraham scolded D\u2019Amore for seeking to minimise his offending.<\/p>\n

\u201cI accept that Mr D\u2019Amore has attempted to minimise his offending conduct. That is, his explanations provide justifications or excuses for the conduct, which are intended to lessen his culpability,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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\"SarahSarah Danckert<\/a> is a senior reporter who specialises in investigations and corporate wrongdoing. She is a two-time Walkley Award winner, and has won six Quill Awards and two Kennedy Awards.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"August 9, 2026 \u2014 4:30pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":849123,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99],"class_list":["post-849122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=849122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849122\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/849123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=849122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=849122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=849122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}