A man has been spared jail after pleading guilty to stealing AU$64,000 (US$44,185) from a GoFundMe page which was set up to support the family of a murdered woman.

26-year-old Lachlan Morganti appeared at the Ballarat Magistrate’s Court for sentencing and was handed a two-year community corrections order and 400 hours of unpaid work by magistrate Michelle Mykytowycz.

Morganti knew the family of the allegedly murdered Hannah McGuire through their support of the Clunes Cricket Club, where he played.

burning through the full amount within five days

After her death, he set up the GoFundMe page with a goal of AU$15,000 (US$10,359), which it quickly exceeded. However, upon the money arriving in Morganti’s account, he quickly began to gamble with it, burning through the full amount within five days.

After confessing the losses to McGuire’s mother, Debbie, the police were contacted. Morganti blamed the incident on an “uncontrollable” gambling addiction.

In sentencing, Mykytowycz conceded that the fundraiser had been set up as a genuine act of altruism, but that “the temptation to use this money to recover previous debts became overwhelming and self-indulgent.”

McGuire added: “Not only did the accused violate our trust, but he had a complete disregard of the trust and generosity of an entire community.”