A wannabe playboy fleeced more than $1million from his father and blew it all on a lavish lifestyle filled with drugs, women, flashy cars, video games, online gambling, tech gadgets and other ‘random s***’.
Kyle Kepkey, 30, pleaded guilty to multiple fraud charges when he appeared at Victoria’s County Court on Monday.
After selling his home for $1,181,792 in 2017, his father now struggles to survive on Centrelink payments – with less than $20 to his name.
The court heard the father moved to Victoria from New South Wales in early 2017 and estimated he could live off $70,000 a year from the money he made on the sale of his property.
Kyle Kepkey (pictured) blew $4,000 a week stolen from his father’s bank account on drugs
But Kepkey gained access to his father’s online account and over the next two years made almost 300 transactions to steal $1,001,330, the Herald Sun reported.
Kepkey also earned $2000 a fortnight working for two tech companies at the time, the court was told.
His father had no idea of Kepkey’s deceit until he discovered his account had insufficient funds when he tried to withdraw money from an ATM.
The court heard Kepkey was interviewed by police in April 2019.
A month later, Kepkey and his father lost everything when the house they rented together in Melbourne’s north-west was destroyed in an electrical fire.
Friends raised $3,855 to help the pair through an online fundraising page which described them as ‘two of the most kind-hearted, compassionate and generous people you will ever meet’.
Kyle Kepkey fleeced more than $1million from his father to blow it all on a lavish lifestyle. He’s pictured as a boy with his dad, which he posted as a Father’s Day tribute last September
Kepkey later posted he was moved to tears by his friends’ efforts to help.
‘I can happily say nothing can take away my sense of humour,’ he wrote on Facebook in May 2019.
‘A lot of people said I had too much stuff anyway. Importantly just want to reassure everyone that Dad and I are okay. The amount of support is more than we could ever ask for.
‘Home isn’t things or a place it’s a feeling.’
He uploaded several fire-related memes in the months that followed.
‘Just want to reassure everyone I’m making the best out of horrible situation. If you can’t laugh you just cry,’ he posted.
Kepkey was eventually charged with fraud in December 2019 after a detailed confession to police on how he blew his father’s money.
The court heard Kepkey admitted to spending $4,000 a week on drugs and paid for his then-girlfriend’s $20,000 shopping spree from his dad’s funds.
Kyle Kepkey (left) also used his father’s funds to pay for a girlfriend’s shopping trip
He described his extravagant spending habit as ‘living the Rockefeller lifestyle on someone else’s dime’.
‘It was just me more being the big man of things, providing money that wasn’t mine,’ Kepkey told police.
‘My dad’s not very tech savvy, so it almost became too easy.
‘The moment that I could figure out a way to actually access it and take it without even anyone questioning or knowing it, it just became, like, a golden pass to me.’
The court heard Kepkey withdrew more than $200,000 in cash and spent nearly $300,000 to buy ‘random sh**’ – including $15,000 on Uber, $22,000 on online gaming, $13,000 at Bunnings, $17,000 at JB Hi-FI and nearly $15,000 at EB Games.
He also blew more than $2,000 on ‘premium purchases’ on dating app Tinder and almost $3000 on Deliveroo because he ‘did not really cook’.
Kyle Kepkey (pictured) has been remanded in custody and will be sentenced at a later date
Kepkey’s extravagance didn’t end there.
The court heard he gave $12,000 to his best mate towards his upcoming wedding, helped another mate out by paying his rent and gave an ex-girlfriend $10,000 as ‘remuneration for the break up.’
Kepkey continued to steal from his dad, who at the same time showered him with gifts.
He spent $26,000 modifying a Honda Civic his dad bought him and then stole another $14,000 after the father paid for his holiday to Tokyo, the court heard.
Kepkey withdrew more than $200,000 in cash and spent thousands on other things including $15,000 on Uber, $22,000 on online gaming and almost $13,000 at Bunnings
Kepkey paid tribute to his dad last year by posting a childhood throwback photo of him as a little boy at the beach in the Philippines holding his father’s hand.
‘Happy Father’s Day,’ the photo was captioned.
Bizarrely, he posted in late 2017 that ‘dreams don’t work unless you do’.
Kepkey was remanded in custody and will be sentenced at a later date.
Kepkey stole $26,000 to modify the Honda Civic his father bought him, a court was told