Melbourne billionaire Adrian Portelli will plead not guilty to nine charges of assisting in the conduct of unlawful lottery following alleged property and cash giveaways
Adrian Portelli is facing nine charges relating to unlawful lottery(Image: adrian_portelli/Instagram )
A billionaire dubbed ‘Lambo Guy’ known for his property and cash giveaways is facing charges relating to unlawful lottery – but he’s set to plead not guilty.
Melbourne billionaire Adrian Portelli, who has 460,000 followers on Instagram and calls himself a ‘property investor’, will plead not guilty to nine charges of assisting in the conduct of unlawful lottery, Adelaide Magistrates’ Court heard on Wednesday. Portelli’s company Xclusive Tech Pty Ltd, which operates under the name LMCT+, will also contest the charges.
Portelli, who shows off his flashy life on social media, was not required to attend the hearing. The cash and property giveaways include houses from the reality show The Block. It comes as a lottery winner’s girlfriend lashed “dragged him to the ground by his balls” after spotting a message from another woman on his phone.
Portelli is known as ‘Lambo Guy'(Image: adrian_portelli/Instagram )
Portelli bought all of the homes in the latest series of the show to give away as prizes, however, the winner decided to take the $8million in cash instead of the properties.
Melbourne billionaire Portelli’s company offers members subscriptions to a “rewards club”, who receive entries to win cars and properties. The model is known as a trade promotion lottery, reports Guardian.
He has 460,000 followers on Instagram (Image: adrian_portelli/Instagram )
Ben Lodge, acting for Portelli and his company, said that they wanted the matter dealt with quickly. Xclusive faces 10 charges for conducting or assisting in the conduct of an unlawful lottery.
South Australia’s Consumer and Business Services (CBS) investigated cases including some giveaways from The Block before bringing the 19 charges. The incidents are said to have happened between January 29, 2023, to May 16, 2024.
Portelli calls himself a ‘property investor’ (Image: adrian_portelli/Instagram )
The court documents read: “The major prize for the lottery was a property situated in Gisborne in the state of Victoria as seen on the Australian television show The Block, or a cash prize of $3,000,000.”
Giving away the prize “involved an element of chance” but the defendant allegedly “did not hold a licence to conduct the lottery in South Australia”.
Portelli shows off his flashy life on social media(Image: adrian_portelli/Instagram )
Two other properties from The Block, one valued at about $2.9million and the other unknown, had cash prizes of $2.5million and $2million offered respectively as alternatives.
Lodge said: “Our instructions are that the matter is contested and we are keen to progress the matter to trial as soon as we can.” The next court hearing was scheduled for March 6.
He is facing nine charges(Image: adrian_portelli/Instagram )
It comes after a National Lottery winner was put behind bars for child sex abuse crimes after a cop sting operation. Anthony Dugard, 60, who worked for a charity, scooped a share of £2.2million back in 2009 with his syndicate. He and his missus, parents to two girls, each nabbed a cool £275,000.
But Dugard, from Park Drive in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, was arrested on July 4, 2024, in Swindon, Wiltshire, where he had travelled to meet who he thought was a child with the intention of abusing them. Instead, cops were waiting for him. He owned up to four child sex charges and was remanded into custody.
The properties in question were seen on The Block(Image: adrian_portelli/Instagram )
After looking into his mobile, police became aware of further offences committed against a real child. The girl, just 15 when Dugard abused her, gave evidence that he’d manipulated and taken advantage of her for months. Dugard was charged and pleaded guilty to another five child sexual abuse offences. Read the full story here.