How Wisr boss Anthony Nantes' wife continued his affair with a female employee just six months into their two-and-a-half-year romance

EXCLUSIVE

The wife of a cheating financial technology startup boss began to suspect his infidelity just six months into his two-and-a-half-year affair when she saw his female staffer leaving their marital home, court documents show.

Former Wisr chief executive Anthony Nantes, 45, was sentenced at Waverley Local Court in Sydney's eastern suburbs on Monday after pleading guilty to stalking his mistress, 32, in Sydney between December 2022 and March 2023.

The pair met at work and had a secret relationship for two and a half years before threatening to tell his wife if things went sour.

Nantes then bombarded her with messages — including more than 50 emails in one day — and ended up at her home, where he refused to leave, according to court documents.

Nantes' lawyer submitted a psychiatric report to the court on Monday as he filed a request to have the case of the high-flying start-up founder handled under mental health facilities.

According to the report, Nantes told his psychiatrist Dr. Olav Nielssen that his wife began to suspect he was unfaithful about six months after the affair when she returned home early one day and saw his mistress leaving their home.

He told Mr Nielssen that his relationship with his female staffer became “traumatic and abusive” after that incident.

“He said she repeatedly threatened to tell his wife about their continued contact and also to notify company management, and used those threats to extort sums of money from him,” the report said.

'He said he paid [her] rent, transferred her $10,000 in cryptocurrency and spent thousands of dollars on events and travel.”

Nantes further told Mr Neilssen that the staffer's police report focused on events that took place in the four months leading up to March 2023, but the pair remained on good terms afterwards and even went on holiday abroad together.

“They continued to see each other most days at work, and in June 2023 she flew to Italy to meet him and they were intimate again,” the report continued.

'However, he said that two days after her arrival there was an argument about their future, during which he told her that he was going to confess to his wife and that he would not pay her any more money.

'He said she used his credit card to pay for a flight home via Bali, and after returning to Australia she went to the police.'

The report added that Nantes said he had “literally hundreds of text messages and emails” showing she had threatened him and demanded money.

He also told Mr Nielssen that he had gone to the police to apply for an AVO to stop her from blackmailing him, but Nantes discovered that she had been to the police station the day before and when he attended he was arrested and charged.

Nantes then spent 11 days in jail at Parklea Correctional Centre, in Sydney's northwest, before being released on bail.

However, Magistrate Jacqueline Milledge was unimpressed by the mental health application and asked if Nantes' legal team could provide the text messages he cited as evidence.

When his legal adviser said this could not be done, she said: 'At this point he is just saying it happened but there is no evidence of it. So I won't take it into account.'

Nantes' legal team had argued that he should be convicted under the Mental Health Act because he suffered from panic disorders and substance abuse, which had been exacerbated by the saga.

However, Ms Milledge was visibly surprised by the application.

“He's gotten himself into a horrible, horrible mess. Why wouldn't he feel that way?' she said.

The lawyer said the changes in his mental health were relevant because the affair resulted in “the loss of his marriage, home, job – things he had no control over.”

Mrs Milledge replied: 'What do you mean beyond his control? He caused it himself. She [those things] are collateral damage.”

The court also heard Nantes had a history of illicit drug use, including cocaine, MDMA, cannabis, as well as using benzodiazepines and alcohol to get to sleep.

The report noted that Nantes could not recall an incident when he followed the employee into the street after being disturbed at her home, which he said could have been due to the use of his prescription medications.

Nantes also spent three weeks in a rehabilitation center after his arrest, the court heard, and has not used drugs or alcohol since his release (which was one of his bail conditions).

Ms Milledge ultimately appealed the mental health application, arguing that Nantes' mental health problems did not appear to be a cause but rather a product of his actions.

She also noted that it was a “very, very sparse” treatment plan, which “made no mention of his substance use.”

However, Mrs Milledge was sympathetic to the situation Nantes found himself in and praised him for his efforts to get his life back on track.

She sentenced him to six months' imprisonment for good behavior, without a conviction being recorded.

'I am not sitting here as someone who has come from the holy sphere and condemns you for having an affair. That's not what I'm here for,” she said.

'It was a bad decision on your part that had catastrophic consequences. But we are all human and make mistakes. I certainly have. [But] how we deal with it is a benchmark for us.

'I don't know what the future holds for you and your family, but I hope it works out well for you. You are someone who made a mistake and you don't have to pay for it for the rest of your life. You certainly paid a high price for what happened.

“You do everything you can to improve your life, I see it as penance, and I hope others see it that way too.”

Mr. Nantes' estranged wife, Cassi, his father and two male friends were in the courtroom to express their support.

After the hearing ended, Nantes was seen hugging his supporters in relief, with watery and red eyes behind his glasses.

He declined to comment outside court.