Finks bikie boyfriend Athar Almatrah accused of setting up shooting of Mongol Rocco Curra
Twist as Finks’ girlfriend goes to jail for luring Mongolia’s rival to get revenge – but those she says recruited her have all walked free
- Athar Almatrah faces 15 years in prison
- Accused of setting up shooting
- Mongol Rocco Curra shot four times
Bikie girlfriend Athar Almatrah faces jail time after luring a rival gang member to the scene of a shooting as part of a revenge drive.
In August 2019, a dozen shots were fired at the car of Mongolian club member Rocco Curra, four of which hit him in the head, neck and chest.
Almatrah had lured him there for her Finks boyfriend, as part of a revenge attack after another Fink was shot in the foot by a Mongolian biker.
She now faces up to 15 years behind bars after admitting to recklessly causing serious harm.
But in a twist, three of the men Almatrah said recruited her for $5,000 were acquitted by a jury after taking their case to trial.
Athar Almatrah (pictured right) leaves Victoria’s Supreme Court in Melbourne on Thursday
A fourth man had charges dropped by prosecutors after the other men walked free.
Her lawyer Rishi Nathwani said Almatrah was unaware of the plan for retaliation.
“She expected him to be beaten very seriously, but never really thought about the level of violence,” he said.
She also never got paid, he said.
The court heard that Almatrah, now 32, set up a fake Instagram account to chat with Mr Curra, who had previously sent “sleazy” messages to her real account.
Mr. Curra suspected it might be fake and contacted Almatrah to ask about the new account that started following him.
Ms Almatrah is accused of setting up a fake Instagram account to ambush a motorcyclist
Almatrah claimed the girl, Sarah Riccardo, was real and “a good girl.”
She used the Riccardo account to schedule a meeting with Mr. Curra and gave him an address she got from the Finks cyclists.
He agreed to meet her and when he messaged to say he had arrived, Mr. Curra’s car was ambushed.
Finks bikie Sione Hokafonu, the gang member who was shot in the foot earlier, was acquitted of being one of the two gunmen who allegedly jumped out of the car and fired the dozens of shots.
Charges against the second alleged gunman, Tavita Sua, were dropped.
The alleged flight drivers were also acquitted.
Mr Nathwani said that Almatrah had expressed guilt and remorse for her actions.
“Her own foolish actions brought her here — those were her words,” he said.
Mongolian bikie Rocco Curra was shot four times with bullets hitting him in the head, neck and chest
But judge Mandy Fox said it wasn’t just silly, writing in letters that she did everything she could to point out she was naive, vulnerable and manipulated.
“She volunteered for this,” she said.
“She arranged a settlement where she would get $5,000 and even after learning of the shooting, she still asked for her $5,000,” she said.
Almatrah will be sentenced at a later date.