EXCLUSIVE
The founder of an ASX-listed fintech company who had a complicated love affair with an employee lost his “wife, his home and his job” as a result of the scandal, a court has heard.
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 bowed his head in court on Monday morning as his lawyer requested that the high-profile startup founder’s matter be dealt with under mental health provisions.
Anthony Nantes was accompanied to court by his ex-wife Cassi (above)
Mr. Nantes’ estranged wife Cassi, her father and two male friends sat nearby to show their support.
But Magistrate Jacqueline Milledge was unimpressed with the mental health application, which was based on a psychiatric report showing he suffered from panic disorder and substance abuse problems.
‘Really?’ she said, visibly taken aback by the request. “This is just a horrible incident.”
Referring to the report, the lawyer said Nantes had told the psychologist that he acted that way because the employee had sent him text messages demanding money.
Ms Milledge asked if counsel could provide the cited messages, but when he said he could not, she asked why they were taken into account as a sentencing consideration.
‘Right now it just says it happened but there is no evidence of it. So I won’t take it into consideration,” he stated.
The lawyer responded: “Actually the submission is that the behaviour, whilst in no way justified, the written submissions explain what happened and how that affected his mental health.”
Mrs Milledge said: “He got himself into a terrible, terrible trouble.” Why wouldn’t she feel that way?’
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 argued that Nantes was in a “hypermanic” state at the time of committing the crime, due to a pre-existing bipolar condition.
But Milledge noted that he had “continued to function” normally before the stress of the scandal.
However, the lawyer continued to insist that his mental health should be taken into account given “the loss of his marriage, his home, his job… things that are beyond his control.”
But Mrs Milledge disagreed and replied: ‘What do you mean, out of his control? He brought it on himself. They [those things] They are collateral damage.’
The court heard Nantes had a history of illicit drug use including cocaine, MDMA, cannabis, as well as the use of benzodiazepines and alcohol to 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.
The court heard that Nantes also spent three weeks in a rehabilitation center after his arrest 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.”
“She said she was the one who started it, but Mr. Nantes was very active when the matter started. He was able to make conscious decisions,” she said.
The court heard Cassi and Nantes have since separated.
Nantes had the support of his father and a friend (pictured)
‘I had used cannabis and cocaine every few weeks. She took benzodiazepines to help control her anxiety. I think that’s her problem. I refuse to deal with him under Article 14.’
However, Mrs Milledge understood the sad 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.”
Once the hearing concluded, Nantes could be seen hugging his supporters with relief.
He declined to comment outside court.
Nantes and Cassi, who share three children, photographed in happier times