A wealthy socialite admitted spiking her ex-friend's drink with MDMA - before making a dramatic courtroom backflip when she was warned how serious the offence was. 

Brighton socialite Amy Tossoun, co-founder of Richmond Dentist, appeared in Mansfield Magistrates’ Court, near Victoria’s ski fields, where she hoped to walk free without conviction

Her lawyer Michelle Button fronted Magistrate Amina Bhai with the expectation her client could admit the crime but maintain a clean criminal record by being dealt with via the court's diversion program. 

Tossoun was accused of spiking her former mate Melissa Jreissati's drink at the Kooroora Hotel on Mt Buller in the early hours of July 27 last year. 

Ms Jreissati is a marketing director for prestigious winery Levantine Hill and the daughter of one of Melbourne's richest property developers.

The alleged incident happened at 11.49pm on July 26, 2025, at the luxury ski resort, a favourite winter playground for Melbourne's rich and glamorous. 

Under Victorian law, diversion plans are often handed down to first-time offenders and are designed not to impact on a person's life going forward.

Under the diversion plan, Tossoun was not required to formally plead to the charges and instead simply made admissions to the charged offences.

That plan unravelled when Magistrate Bhai rejected the diversion application.

'From what you did, you took away the right of another person to say no to consuming a substance and that being illicit substance,' she told Tossoun. 

'And not only did you take away her right to say no to that, she didn't know what was happening to her as a result of that. 

'And for those reasons, I do think it's serious offending ... there is real need for general deterrence. So that's to deter other people from engaging in this sort of behaviour.

'In my view, it's too serious for me to grant the application for diversion.'

Ms Button immediately called for the matter to go to a contested hearing where Tossoun will now plead not guilty to the charges, despite already making admissions. 

Toussoun's lawyer also wanted CCTV footage - which allegedly captured her client spiking her mate's drink - dismissed by the court. 

The court heard Ms Jreissati and her friends met up with Tossoun and her group, including her partner, through mutual friends.

After dinner and drinks, the groups went to the Kooroora Hotel for further drinks and dancing. 

Police prosecutor Sgt Karen Knotley told the court CCTV showed Tossoun ordering drinks at the bar, before she deliberately separated one glass, and tipped the drug into it before mixing it with a straw.

Moments later, Tossoun approached the victim on the dancefloor, took her original drink, and allegedly insisted she take the spiked one instead. 

'The accused ordered and paid for three vodka sodas, which the bartender poured and placed on the bar,' Sgt Knotley said. 

'The accused immediately separated one glass from the others for the purpose of administering amphetamine to the drink.'

The court heard Tossoun was later found with a small bag containing MDMA - also known as rave drug ecstasy or molly - in her snow jacket.

'CCTV at the club shows that the accused placed the amphetamine into one of the remaining drinks before mixing it with the straw,' Sgt Knotley said. 

'The accused approached the victim on the dance floor and took the victim's drink from her. The accused was adamant that the victim have the drink that she had mixed the amphetamine into.'

The court heard Ms Jreissati later told police the drink tasted strangely bitter. She tried to fix it with extra lime but still consumed most of it. 

Within minutes of returning to her chalet, she collapsed into terrifying symptoms, including extreme dizziness and a pounding heart. 

'The ambulance was then called and the victim said that she was going to have a heart attack,' Sgt Knotley said. 

'She felt anxious and agitated and was rocking back and forth, with her arms wrapped around her body.'

The court heard Tossoun walked into Mansfield Police Station and spoke to officers the next day.

'The accused stated that she had located a small bag containing a substance that she believed to be MDMA in her jacket pocket,' Sgt Knotley said. 

'The accused stated that she placed that MDMA in her own drink. She stated that the group was sitting at a table with a lot of drinks on it. She said, "I don't know if she took the wrong drink" and claimed that it was unintentional.' 

Ms Button told the court Tossoun was a 'good person who made a mistake'. 

She described her client as a respected mother, charity volunteer, and cancer research fundraiser who had already suffered enough through media exposure on Mother’s Day. 

The alleged incident had been splashed across the Sunday Herald Sun that day. 

After learning the diversion was not going to be an option, Ms Button told the court the officer who interviewed her client had not read her her rights. 

Ms Button refused to clarify when the magistrate questioned why the CCTV should be withdrawn from being presented as evidence.

'You can appreciate that at a contest mention, the defence do not have to throw out all our cards - show all our hand. I've got the media there, it's a contest mention,' she said. 

The magistrate slammed Tossoun for failing to tell her friend on the night what she had consumed. 

'The one person that knew what had actually happened was your client,' she said. 

'It was your client that knew what had happened ... knowing that the ambulance would have been called.

'You said that she was concerned for the complainant's safety, but she wasn't so concerned at that stage to say, and this is what's happened.'

Ms Button admitted to the court that her client could have spoken up. 

'At the time, it's in the early hours of the morning, yes,' she said.

' I hear what your honour's saying and in hindsight my client probably could have done more that morning.' 

She told the court her client had struggled mentally since the incident which had been compounded by the breakdown of her marriage. 

Tossoun is facing two charges - possessing MDMA and introducing a drug of dependence into the body of a person.

Both offences carry punishments including fines of about $6000 or up to one year behind bars.

The matter will go to a contested hearing in December.