A gourmet grocer has been found guilty of attempted insurance fraud after stating he was at the wheel of his Lamborghini Gallardo during a fiery crash, instead of his 24-year-old son.

John Fiotakis denied attempting to dishonestly gain a financial advantage after his insurance claim stated he was driving the $239,000 sports car when it hit a tree and caught fire near Hobart in 2019.

The 64-year-old’s policy with Allianz excluded drivers younger than 25, and his $182,000 claim was denied after investigations indicated his son Spiro had in fact been behind the wheel. 

A jury took four hours to deliver a unanimous guilty verdict.  

After the accident, police became suspicious about a long delay in calling triple zero to report it. It was later shown that Fiotakis’ phone was 20km away at the time of the accident. 

Defence counsel James Crotty said Fiotakis – who owns Hobart’s Lipscombe Larder – claimed he accidentally switched phones with his son hours before the smash. 

However, a witness who arrived at the accident scene minutes after the car caught fire reported talking to a younger man.

At a four-day trial at the Supreme Court in Hobart this week, Allianz’s senior investigations co-ordinator said AusAssess was appointed to examine the claim. Its investigator concluded Fiotakis was not driving. 

Also in court, Steadfast Taswide Insurance Brokers account manager Amber Tucker testified that she told Fiotakis during meetings and via email his policy would not cover an accident if his son were the driver. 

In the months before the accident, Fiotakis had asked whether his policy would cover Spiro when he drove the car to Melbourne to be serviced.  

Fiotakis has been granted bail and will face court again in August for sentencing submissions.