A fake celebrant has been sentenced to community service after illegally wedding five couples in what police describe as "extremely deceitful" acts.
The 31-year-old Melbourne man pretended to be an authorised celebrant and charged the couples between $700 to $1000 for his services in 2022 and 2023. He illegally solemnised their marriages, rendering them invalid.
The fifth couple reported him to Australian Federal Police and he was arrested in February after the attorney-general's department confirmed he was not a registered marriage celebrant.
The man pleaded guilty to four counts of an unauthorised person solemnising a marriage and one count of impersonating a public official when facing the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday.
The magistrate handed him a six-month community corrections order, requiring him to perform 50 hours of community work.
"Impersonating an authorised and registered marriage celebrant in Australia is an extremely deceitful act and this could have had serious financial, religious and legal consequences for the couples who were victims of this deception," AFP Detective Superintendent Donna Tankard said in a statement on Thursday.
