A man has pleaded guilty to scamming landlords out of hundreds of thousands of dollars through his holiday renting business, claiming “he robbed Peter to pay Paul.”
Aron Degotardi was arrested in March with 42 counts of ‘dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception’ and was accused of owing over $570,000 to landlords and short-term renters.
These charges have since been reduced following negotiations with police. He has been charged with and pleaded guilty to dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception to value of over $382,000; the victim list only consisted of landlords who rented their homes through the 51-year-old’s business, Northern Beaches Holiday Rentals.
However, another sequence of charges was given a ‘Form 1’. This is when additional charges not included in the principal offence (listed above) can be taken into consideration in sentencing but cannot be used for conviction.
This sequence amounted to the stolen value of almost $170,000 with victims including both landlords and renters.
Court documents reveal one tourist from Finland rented a property in Fairlight from December 2025 to January 2026, paying Mr Degotardi over $18,500 for a deposit of 50 per cent of the full rental amount. The tourist was later informed the business he rented through, Northern Beaches Holidays Rentals, had shut down and that he should contact NSW Fair Trade for his funds back.
Another rented a property in Greycliffe Street Queenscliff during the same time for almost $21,000. He received a similar response.
The facts sheet stated it was Degotardi who turned himself into Fair Trading NSW last February.
It was recommended he shut down the business and he did. Degotardi was arrested at his Anna Bay home a month later.
Following the arrest, detectives asked where the stolen money had gone, to which he responded that he needed to “rob Peter to pay Paul,” essentially shifting the debt instead of providing genuine solutions or additional funds to the many victims.
One victim, a landlord, who rented her apartment in North Steyne out last October is still owed $54,000 from Degotardi. Another who rented out their residence in Narrabeen on multiple occasions through the scam company is owed over $34,000.
Alleged renter and tourist victims who used the scam site said their accommodation would get abruptly cancelled after paying the deposit. Others reported turning up to the rented properties only to find they were occupied by residents with no knowledge of the rental agreements.
Degotardi was given conditional bail and is set to reappear in Manly Local Court for sentencing 10 December 2025.
