This is a true tale of theft, drugs and a bakery. Jordan Dittloff made headlines in 2015 for stealing $277,993.58 from 47 clients of his travel agency Ace Travel in Victoria.

As an award winning travel agency and a community leader in regional Victoria, Jordan’s crimes rocked the Colac community. Many, including his 70 year old future mother in law, lost thousands of dollars saved up for their ‘trip of a lifetime’. Trading insolvent, Jordan effectively ran a travel ponzi scheme relying on future holiday bookings to pay for past holiday bookings.

Eventually the scheme collapsed and Jordan disappeared, sparking media attention. After 2 weeks he handed himself into police and was bailed pending a court hearing for his crimes.

At the same time, Jordan ran a second business: drug dealing in Melbourne, profits from which he used to fund his own drug habit. Whilst on bail, Jordan was arrested as part of Victoria Police drug sting operation in a Melbourne alleyway.

In the end the court sentenced Jordan to jail 3 years (20 months non-parole) as well as granting compensation orders for his victims to be repaid.

In prison Jordan completed a business degree and in the five years since release is completing a post-graduate law degree and has repaid ~$35,000 to victims. He has worked at the same bakery since release.

He now credits his time in prison as a catalyst for reform and is building a drug and alcohol free life of discipline and responsibility unlike his behaviour displayed before prison.

Other issues we discussed:

• What prison is really like
• Criminal justice reform
• How the different generations see criminal justice
• How governments respond to community feelings
• Why we must reject the progressive narrative ‘blame the system’ for crime
• Why we must not ban criminal record checks
• Practising radical honesty
• The political system self-selects for dishonesty
• The potential for an honest politician
• What is freedom? Do we understand it?
• Which media represents average people?
• Supporting the right to protest
• Removing enlightenment values from institutions renders democracies as tyrannies
• The future for humanity: Wall-E
• The death throes of the state
• Rising corporate power
• Friendly Jordies and Michael West Media
• Taking the pulse of the community
• Embracing fragmentation
• The AI revolution: ChatGPT

JORDAN DITTLOFF
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-dittloff
jdittloff@deakin.edu.au