Fake marriage celebrant deceived vulnerable couples

William Cheesman, a 31-year-old Melbourne man, has been sentenced to 50 hours of community service for impersonating a Commonwealth officer and performing five fake ceremonies in Victoria.

He pretended to be an authorised celebrant from March 2022 and April 2023 pocketing between $700 and $1000 for each ceremony, the court heard.

In a victim impact statement one couple said their $30,000 wedding day had been a "waste of money".

They held a second ceremony, after spending a long time saving for the first, and said they felt "betrayed" by their friend and fake celebrant.

An investigation was launched after the fifth couple, unable to find Cheesman on the Australian register of authorised celebrants, reported the crime.

"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," Australian Federal Police detective superintendent Donna Tankard said.

"The AFP will continue to work with its state and Commonwealth law enforcement partners to proactively target, identify, and disrupt fraudsters who are attempting to exploit and profit from members of the community."

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He was arrested on February 19, 2024 and pleaded guilty to four counts of solemnisation of a marriage by an unauthorised person and one count of impersonation of a public official on June 24.

All marriages performed by Cheesman are considered invalid.