A jewellery store owner and accomplice who staged a fake multi-million dollar heist are in limbo after a jury was unable to reach a verdict on contested charges.
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See subscription optionsGermani Jewellers' store at Sydney's Hilton Hotel was robbed by two men in January 2023.
Its owner Michel Germani, 67, owed more than $184,000 in rent to the hotel and formed a plan to recoup funds before the store was shut down, prosecutors said.
He stood trial in the NSW District Court alongside Mounir Helou, 59, who was accused of tying up Germani and employee Lana Al-Khoury while carrying out the fake jewellery heist.
Germani and Helou have admitted the robbery was faked but have claimed Ms Al-Khoury knew of the plan and consented to being bound with cable ties.
They have each pleaded not guilty to one count of aggravated robbery with corporal violence, while Germani has also pleaded not guilty to one count of detaining without consent.
After a week of deliberations, the jury told Judge Miiko Kumar it had been unable to reach a majority verdict for either man on Tuesday.
"It is clear further deliberation will not change the current deadlock," the jury note read.
After questioning the foreperson to satisfy herself that was the case, the judge discharged the jurors.
Germani and Helou will return to court on July 28 to learn what happens next.
Their co-accused Andrea David Cusumano, 59, was found guilty on Monday of one count of committing the staged robbery to obtain a financial advantage.
The court was told he played a lesser role in the scheme by registering a new mobile phone bought for the sham robbery and making a call to Germani to arrange the after-hours appointment.
Cusumano will be sentenced at a later date.
Germani made an insurance claim for $2.8 million for 164 jewellery items "stolen" during the fake heist, but it was refused.
Australian Associated Press
