EXCLUSIVE
The wife of the boss of a cheating fintech startup began suspecting he was gambling just six months into their two-and-a-half-year affair after seeing his employee leaving their marital home, court documents reveal.
Former Wisr chief executive Anthony Nantes, 45, was sentenced on Monday at Waverley Local Court in Sydney’s eastern suburbs after pleading guilty to stalking his lover, 32, in Sydney between December 2022 and March 2023.
The couple met at work and were in a secret relationship for two and a half years before she threatened to tell his wife when things went sour.
Nantes subsequently bombarded her with messages, including more than 50 emails in one day, and showed up at her home, where she refused to leave, according to court documents.
Nantes’ lawyer submitted a psychiatric report to the court on Monday when he requested that the matter of the founder of a high-profile startup be dealt with under mental health provisions.
According to the report, Nantes told his psychiatrist, Dr. Olav Nielssen, that his wife began to suspect he was being unfaithful about six months after she returned home early one day and saw her lover leaving her room. home.
Anthony Nantes and his ex-wife Cassi, with whom he shares three children, are photographed in happier times.
He told Nielssen that after that incident, his relationship with his employee became “traumatic and abusive.”
“He said she repeatedly threatened to inform his wife of his continued contact and also to inform the company’s board of directors, and used those threats to extort sums of money from him,” the report said.
‘He said he paid [her] I rented, transferred $10,000 in cryptocurrency, and spent thousands of dollars on events and trips.
Nantes further told Mr. Neilssen that the employee’s police report focused on events that took place in the four months leading up to March 2023; However, the couple remained on good terms afterwards and even went on holiday abroad together.
“They continued to see each other at work most days, and in June 2023, she flew to Italy to meet him and they became intimate again,” the report continues.
‘However, she said that two days after her arrival, there was an argument about his future, during which he told her that he was going to confess to his wife and would not pay her any more money.
“He said she used his credit card to pay for a flight home via Bali, and after returning to Australia, she went to the police.”
Anthony Nantes was accompanied to court by his ex-wife Cassi (above) on Monday. The court heard the couple separated after their complicated love story came to light.
The report adds that Nantes said he had “literally hundreds of text messages and emails” that showed she had threatened him and demanded money.
He also told Mrs Nielssen that he had gone to the police to apply for an AVO to prevent her from blackmailing him, but Nantes discovered that she had gone to the police station the day before and when he went he was arrested and charged.
Nantes then spent 11 days in jail at Parklea Correctional Center in Sydney’s northwest before being granted bail.
However, Magistrate Jacqueline Milledge was unimpressed with the mental health request and asked if Nantes’ legal team could provide the text messages she cited as evidence.
When her legal counsel said they couldn’t, she said: “Right now, he’s just saying it happened, but there’s no proof of it.” So I won’t take it into consideration.
Nantes’ legal team had argued that he should be sentenced under the Mental Health Act as he suffered from panic disorders and substance abuse problems which had been amplified by the saga.
However, Mrs Milledge was visibly taken aback by the request.
“He got into a terrible, terrible mess. Why wouldn’t she feel that way?’ she said.
Anthony Nantes was accompanied to court by his ex-wife Cassi (above) on Monday
The former founder of a high profile startup was released without conviction from Waverley Local Court, with a magistrate ruling he had gotten himself into a “terrible pickle”.
The lawyer said the changes in his mental health were relevant because the affair resulted in “the loss of his marriage, home, job – things beyond his control”.
Mrs Milledge replied: ‘What do you mean, out of his control? He brought it on himself. They [those things] They are collateral damage.’
The court also heard that Nantes had a history of illicit drug use, including cocaine, MDMA, cannabis, as well as the use of benzodiazepines and alcohol to help him fall asleep.
In the report, it was noted that Nantes could not remember an incident in which he followed the employee up the street after breaking into his home, which he believes could have been due to the use of his prescription medication.
Nantes also spent three weeks in a rehabilitation center after his arrest, the court heard, and has not taken drugs or drank alcohol since his release (which was one of the conditions of his bail).
Ms Milledge ultimately opposed the mental health application, arguing that Nantes’ mental health problems did not appear to be a cause, but rather a product, of his actions.
He also noted that it was a “very, very thin” proposed treatment plan that “did not mention his substance use.”
The court heard Cassi and Nantes have since separated.
Nantes had the support of his father and a friend (pictured)
However, Mrs Milledge understood the situation Nantes found himself in and praised him for his efforts to get his life back on track.
She sentenced him to a six-month good behavior bond with no conviction recorded.
‘I do not sit here as someone who has emerged from the holy sphere and judge you for having some affair. That’s not what I’m here to do,’ he said.
‘It was a bad decision of his that has had catastrophic consequences. But we are all human and we make mistakes. I certainly have. [But] how we handle them is a measure of us.
‘I don’t know what the future holds for you and your family, but I hope it turns out well. You are someone who made a mistake and you shouldn’t have to pay for it for the rest of your life. Without a doubt you have paid a high price for what happened.
“You are doing everything you can to fix your life, I see it as atonement and I hope others see it that way too.”
Nantes’ ex-wife Cassi, his father and two male friends sat in court to show their support.
Once the hearing was over, Nantes could be seen hugging his followers in relief, his eyes teary and red behind his glasses.
He declined to comment outside court.