The jeweller behind the rings worn by Married At First Sight couples has been ordered to pay his former business partner more than $800,000 after a judge found he secretly steered the show’s lucrative sponsorship deal to a new company.
Sydney jeweller Pierre Germani, who has more than 35 years in the trade, breached his duties as a company director and fiduciary, the NSW Supreme Court found.
Justice Scott Nixon described the scheme as dishonest.
He ordered Mr Germani and his company to pay $690,000 plus interest, which is estimated to come to more than $800,000, to Valtimo Holdings, a company controlled by his former partner Fred Grotte.
Mr Grotte once held 40 per cent of two companies that ran Pierre Jewellery, a shop in Sydney's swish Strand Arcade.
But by March 2022 the partners had fallen out, with Mr Grotte refusing offers to sell his stake to Mr Germani, the court heard.
The MAFS rings have become stories in their own right in recent times, with former contestants later selling them online.
In June, the Daily Mail reported David Momoh was selling the wedding ring he exchanged with bride Alissa Fay on the series earlier this year.
MAFS bride Bec Zacharia listed the gold and diamond wedding ring she received when tying the knot with Danny Hewitt on the dating series, following their shock split
The Brisbane-based e-commerce product manager had listed his gold band for sale online, asking for $2,500.
In August, it was revealed Bec Zacharia was selling the gold and diamond wedding ring she received when tying the knot with Danny Hewitt.
She had it listed at Simon Curwood for $2,800.
Justice Nixon found that in April 2022 Mr Germani set up a new company, Prodiamonds, with a new trading name, Pierre Diamonds.
The court heard he began trading from the same shop and did not tell Mr Grotte.
Three months later, MAFS producers emailed to say Pierre Jewellery had been picked as the show’s exclusive jeweller for the 2023 season, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Mr Germani replied that he was 'very excited and proud', but gave the new company's name and trading name, the court heard.
He told producers that Pierre Jewellery was about to update its branding.
David Momoh may have walked away from Married At First Sight without a wife, but he tried to cash in on the trappings of marriage. Pictured with Alissa Fay
The Brisbane-based e-commerce product manager listed his gold band for sale online, asking for $2,500
On the same day, the shop’s landlord, Vicinity Centres, contacted him urgently about unpaid rent.
By August it had issued a breach notice for $233,000 in arrears.
The court heard Mr Germani told the landlord the business had no money.
Weeks later he put the Pierre Jewellery companies into administration, and they later went into liquidation.
Justice Nixon found it likely that Mr Germani deliberately caused the old companies not to pay rent because he wanted Prodiamonds to take over the lease.
The court heard that while the old companies were in administration and liquidation, Mr Germani kept trading under the new company, billing customers under either name.
In October 2022 he allegedly negotiated a new lease for Pierre Diamonds after agreeing to repay the arrears personally.
Sydney jeweller Pierre Germani was found to have been 'dishonest'
He ran Pierre Jewellery, a shop in Sydney's swish Strand Arcade
The judge found Mr Germani never told his estranged business partner that Prodiamonds existed or was making sales, and had 'deliberately concealed' it.
Mr Germani told the court he had not lied to his former partner and that the new venture was not a continuation of the old business.
'Because my name is Pierre, I could work anywhere,' he said.
'I’m the jeweller. I’m the business.'
He also rejected the suggestion that the rent default was not in good faith, saying the old companies were insolvent.
The case was brought by Valtimo Holdings to recover money it lost because of the new venture.
The parties are due back in court next month to deal with orders and costs.
