Leaked email links Cats coaches’ hotel stay with accused fraudster
Geelong coach Chris Scott and Cats football boss Andrew Mackie enjoyed a boutique Sydney stay with a club sponsor who has since been accused of masterminding a $14.5 million fraud, with complimentary hotel upgrades requested for the trio by an-ex-Crown casino supremo.
A leaked email reveals that former Crown Towers chief Peter Crinis arranged the accommodation and free upgrades for Mr Scott, Mr Mackie and former Crown VIP and accused fraudster Sy Giang Nguyen at the Oxford House hotel in Paddington in 2023.
Asking his personal assistant to make the group booking, Mr Crinis instructed her to seek an “upgrade to best suite you have” for Mr Scott, an “upgrade if possible” for Mr Mackie and “the same upgrade to suite 201” for Mr Nguyen on the night of April 10, 2023.
At the time Mr Crinis was running the Public Hospitality Group, which owns the hotel.
Asked about the trip, Geelong sources confirmed Mr Scott and Mr Mackie went to Sydney “for list management/recruitment purposes” which “included a meeting with a player manager”, adding “Mr Nguyen had no involvement in this” and “travel/accom for club staff was paid by the club”.
The club did not explain why Mr Crinis arranged the accommodation and upgrades, or why Mr Nguyen was on the same booking.
Across two decades, regional IT worker Mr Nguyen was given unfettered access to a $4000-a-night Villa at Crown where he hosted dozens of lavish parties for Melbourne powerbrokers, glamorous women and sports figures – many from Geelong.
Mr Nguyen was banned from Crown in 2022 for “reputational issues”, according to casino sources.
Mr Nguyen was close to numerous Cats premiership stars including Joel Selwood, Gary Ablett Jr, Matthew Scarlett, Harry Taylor, Mr Mackie and former premiership coach Mark Thompson.
Mr Nguyen was photographed in happy snaps with Ablett Jr at the dual Brownlow medallists buck’s party and Thompson has confirmed their friendship to the Herald Sun, calling him “a great little guy”.
The alleged fraudster was also a member of the high-priced and exclusive Coaches Club coterie group, which included AFL commission chairman Craig Drummond, who was Geelong president from January 2021 to December 2024.
Mr Nguyen is reported to have paid more than $3300 towards luxury accommodation in Munich for Selwood and Mitch Duncan in 2018.
And he reportedly offered to pay for suites at Crown Towers for several emerging Cats players for the club’s best and fairest event in 2019, while organising free upgrades and access to the exclusive Crystal Club lounge for established Cats stars including Selwood, Tom Hawkins, Tom Stewart and Patrick Dangerfield.
The AFL investigated Geelong’s compliance with league salary cap and football department soft cap rules last year, fining the club $77,550 ($40,000 of which was suspended) over a failure to declare gifts from club sponsors and associates.
The investigation considered the club’s financial arrangements between 2019 and 2024 – which takes in the key period of Mr Nguyen’s alleged fraud – but the league has refused to answer questions on the shadowy high-flyer’s association with the Cats.
Rival clubs have expressed dismay at the limited nature of the AFL’s salary cap probe and questioned whether it considered Mr Nguyen’s 20-year link with Geelong, which included during four premierships between 2007-2022.
One club president told the Herald Sun: “The AFL has let them get away with it, while the Cats lord it over everyone”.
Mr Nguyen was arrested by Victoria Police financial crime squad detectives just eight months after the Sydney trip with Mr Scott and Mr Mackie, with an investigation into his alleged theft of millions of dollars from one of the nation’s biggest disability providers ongoing.
In the email sent from Mr Crinis to his personal assistant five days before they were due to stay at the hotel, he requested that she book three suites with upgrades at Oxford House for the trio.
Mr Scott was booked to stay for two nights – at a nightly rate of $299 including breakfast – while Mr Mackie and Mr Nguyen had rooms reserved for just one night.
The trip followed the traditional Easter Monday clash at the MCG, in which Geelong had dominated Hawthorn to claim an 82 point victory.
Mr Scott and Mr Mackie did not respond to questions about the trip or the extent of their past dealings with Mr Nguyen.
It is not suggested Mr Scott, Mr Mackie or Mr Crinis had any knowledge of Mr Nguyen’s alleged frauds.
Mr Crinis became a trusted confidante of Melbourne elites and megarich-visitors during his 25-year stint at Crown Melbourne. He was also a regular at the A-list parties hosted by Mr Nguyen.
A hunt for millions of dollars of funds allegedly embezzled by Mr Nguyen and his co-accused, the late Keith Greenwood, from NDIS charity GenU has led investigators to Crown, the Cats and high-profile horse racing syndicates.
The Herald Sun revealed in March that former Melbourne Football Club chief executive Paul Guerra and Mr Nguyen co-owned several race horses, with a handful of other movers and shakers.
Mr Guerra was sacked by the Demons last month and replaced by former Geelong CEO Brian Cook, who was ultimately responsible for managing Nguyen’s substantial donations to the Cats.
Mr Crinis – who was also a co-owner of racehorses with Mr Nguyen – was recently let go from his position at property developer Gurner, as revealed by the Herald Sun.
Links between Geelong players and officials and Mr Nguyen date back to the early 2000s.
An internationally acclaimed athlete said Mr Nguyen had a remarkably close relationship with many key figures at the Cats.
“He was basically treated by Geelong as their unofficial #1 ticket holder. He had access to the rooms, all the players knew him. He ran the roost at Geelong and got access to whatever he wanted,” the athlete said.
Mr Nguyen is accused in an ongoing civil trial of defrauding $14.5m from GenU while he lived a high-roller lifestyle.
Police are yet to lay any criminal charges.