A 46-year-old man from Mernda is at the center of multiple allegations of aggressive harassment and trespassing after targeting businesses across Melbourne, with shocking CCTV footage capturing his hostile interactions with staff who rejected his unsolicited sales pitches. Victoria Police have confirmed they spoke to the man following a formal complaint filed over the May 11 incident at a Ravenhall business, located in Melbourne’s western outskirts, and he has since been released pending a future court summons.
The first and most widely reported incident involves Mikaela Borg, a small business owner who says she was left shaken and in tears after the man showed up at her workplace unannounced to push discount vouchers for a local mechanic. When Borg declined the offer and asked him to exit her premises, the man erupted into verbal aggression. Security footage from Borg’s store captures the visibly angry man reaching for her security camera before launching into a verbal tirade, telling Borg to “shut the door and … go jump in a lake” before leaving the property.
In an interview with 7News, Borg described the lingering fear from the encounter, saying “I’m just frightened, obviously, to be in my own workplace. I didn’t know who he was – he wasn’t wearing ID.” What Borg has experienced is not an isolated case, according to local reporting. Multiple businesses across Melbourne, and even some in Perth, have come forward with similar accounts of the man’s uninvited, aggressive sales tactics. Additional CCTV footage from other workplaces shows the man screaming profanities at staff after being asked to leave, and approaching waiting patients inside a chiropractic clinic just hours after his confrontation with Borg.
Leon Callea, owner of Ravenhall-based mechanic workshop GM-F Performance, previously allowed the man to sell discount vouchers at his business after the man claimed he could help boost the workshop’s customer base. Callea told reporters he terminated the agreement almost immediately after receiving a complaint about the salesman’s behavior.
A Victoria Police spokesperson shared detailed context around the incident in an official statement, confirming the allegations: “It is alleged a man entered a warehouse on Katherine Dr and aggressively touted a business service about 3.40pm. When the offer was declined by the sole occupant of the premises, the man became aggressive and refused to leave after being told to. The man eventually left the premises.” Police confirmed the 46-year-old Mernda man was interviewed after the report, and was released pending summons. Authorities have not yet released information on whether formal charges have been filed.
Local business owners have taken to social media to share their own encounters with the man and warn others about his behavior. Victoria Police is urging any member of the public or business owner who has had a negative interaction with the man or has additional information related to the incident to contact Crime Stoppers anonymously on 1800 333 000 or file a report through the official Crime Stoppers Victoria website.