EXCLUSIVE
The teenage son of a property manager has still not paid back the schoolgirl whose stolen American Express card he used for a wild vodka bender during Schoolies Week in Byron Bay.
Lachie Chittenden, 18, son of former Colliers property director Peter Chittenden, bought 14 vodka drinks in just 29 minutes during a drunken frenzy.
But his big night of fun was fueled by the credit card of another girl celebrating Schoolies Week, who was a stranger to him after blowing all his own money on the pokies.
Now his victim, Jemma Fricke, from Brighton in Melbourne’s south-east, has revealed she still hasn’t received her money back more than two months later.
Chittenden tried to keep his arrest and trial secret and didn’t even tell his wealthy father, who only found out on Tuesday via Daily Mail Australia.
“It’s crazy that his father didn’t know,” Ms Fricke, whose own father is a global director of a consultancy, told Daily Mail Australia.
“This is very interesting because I wasn’t really told what happened. I didn’t know the trial was Tuesday.
“Has he been ordered to pay back the money?”
The teenage son of a property magnate has still not paid back schoolgirl Jemma Fricke (pictured) whose stolen credit card he used for a vodka bender during the school week in Byron Bay
Lachie Chittenden, 18, (pictured left) bought 14 vodka drinks in just 29 minutes during a drunken frenzy on the stolen card
She hoped the court would force Chittenden to refund the $156.77 he spent on her card, as she was still waiting for a refund nine weeks after the incident.
The former Scots College student – where fees reach $48,630 a year – pleaded guilty on Tuesday to the charge of dishonestly obtaining the 14 drinks by deception.
The case was heard at Moss Vale Local Court, near his family’s sprawling nine-bedroom, 67-hectare farm at Berry, in the NSW Southern Highlands.
But the charges came as a surprise to his shocked father – who now runs his own property company Woodhill – when he was contacted by Daily Mail Australia.
“I don’t know anything about anything, which is very embarrassing, but on the other hand very disappointing,” Mr Chittenden senior told Daily Mail Australia.
‘I’m very unhappy that I found out about it through you. I will attend to that immediately and that is all I can do.
‘He’s a young boy who does stupid things like that. There’s no need for that, he has access to things he can do – that’s just childishly stupid. He has money.’
He added: ‘I have nothing to say (further) because I don’t want him to be punished for the rest of his life for one moment of extreme stupidity.
“I’ll leave it at that.”
Chittenden, whose father is also a stock and station agent, listed his occupation as a farmhand and the home address he gave to police was confirmed by his father to Daily Mail Australia.
Court documents show Ms Fricke celebrated Schoolies Week in Byron Bay at the same time and place as Chittenden.
Teenager Lachie Chittenden (left) tried to keep his arrest and trial a secret, not even telling his wealthy father, who only found out on Tuesday via Daily Mail Australia
Lachie Chittenden, 18, son of former Colliers property director Peter Chittenden, still hasn’t paid back the $156.77 bill he had on Jemma’s AmEx card (father and son pictured together at a 2019 charity event)
Chittenden and his victim Jemma Fricke were both celebrating Schoolies Week at The Northern Hotel in Byron Bay but did not know each other.
Her driver’s license and two bank cards were stolen from the pocket of her handbag at the Northern Hotel in Byron Bay on November 28, 2023, sometime after 9pm.
Police told the court Chittenden then bought a round of four vodka raspberries at the same hotel at 9.28pm, with a bill for $44.79, which he paid by tapping her card at the bar.
He then purchased two more identical rounds at 9:35 PM and 9:46 PM, before a final round of two more vodka drinks at 9:57 PM, for a total of $156.77.
But every time he used her card to pay for the drinks by tapping the bar’s till, the court heard she received notifications about the payments on her phone.
Ms Fricke realized her cards were missing – and she didn’t buy those drinks – so alerted security, who then used CCTV and receipts to trace it back to Chittenden.
They tracked down Chittenden in the bar and confronted him, finding the stolen AmEx card in his shirt pocket.
Police were called to the scene and immediately arrested him for fraud before he told them he had ‘consumed the drinks’, adding: ‘I did everything. I was stupid.
‘I tapped the map. I spent all my money on the slots.’
He said “a guy” gave him the AmEx card, adding, “So I thought I’d take it.”
The former student of Scots College – where fees run as high as $48,6430 a year – pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges of dishonestly obtaining the 14 drinks by deception
Chittenden (pictured), who told police he was a farmhand, bought three rounds of four vodka raspberries and then a final round of two more during the 29-minute drinking binge
The case was heard at Moss Vale Local Court, near his family’s sprawling nine-bedroom, 67-hectare farm at Berry in the NSW Southern Highlands (pictured)
Chittenden told police he had been drinking ‘too much’ and officers noted he appeared ‘moderately affected’ by the drinking binge when they questioned him around 11pm.
“His movements were slow and his speech was slurred,” court documents show.
“The suspect has apologized to police for his actions, cooperated and made a full confession.”
The case was originally heard in Byron Bay Local Court in January but was moved to Moss Vale Local Court during a hearing last week.
On Tuesday, Magistrate David Degnan received an email from Chittenden’s lawyer pleading guilty to the single charge of dishonestly obtaining by deception.
The case was adjourned for sentencing at Picton Local Court on Friday.