A fifth man has been charged over his alleged involvement in a plot to scam insurers by faking the robbery of a luxury Sydney jewellery store, which left an employee traumatised after she was tied up during the ordeal.
Michel Elias Germani, 65, initially told police he had been the victim of a robbery, when two men entered his Sydney his Sydney store Germani earlier this year, threatening him and a staff member.
The pair had their feet and hands bound with cable ties before the two intruders fled the George Street shop after threatening the employee with a knife and demanding access to a safe shortly after 6.30pm on January 19.
The robbery was a scam orchestrated by Mr Germani to defraud his insurer, police allege.
A significant amount of jewellery was claimed as being stolen, and court documents allege Mr Germani sought $2,821,348 in insurance after the incident.
The innocent female staff member, who was injured in the attack, was "absolutely traumatised" and had no knowledge of the hoax, Detective Superintendent Joe Doueihi said last month.
"She was under the belief that it was a genuine robbery," he said.
Mr Germani was charged with robbery and fraud offences last month and remains before the courts.
After further investigations, detectives from Strike Force Ingestre arrested a man at Burwood Police Station on Tuesday. He was charged with accessory before the fact of aggravated robbery, depriving a person of liberty and participating in a criminal group.
He is due in Burwood Local Court later on Tuesday.
Two men, aged 37 and 57, and a woman, 57, have also been charged over the alleged hoax, and they remain before the courts.
