Ferraris, Lamborghinis, McLaren seized in PBS fraud probe of Sydney pharmacist
A Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce (CACT) led by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) has seized more than $20 million in assets from the 58-year-old pharmacist, who is alleged to have made false claims between 2014 and 2023 with a value of more than $10 million.
Search warrants were executed by the AFP at the man's house in Dural, as well as a pharmacy in Cabramatta East, leading to charges being laid and the subsequent CACT investigation and asset seizure.
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The CACT says it 'restrained' a total of 12 vehicles: seven BMWs, two Ferraris, two Lamborghinis, and one McLaren.
Photos taken by AFP officers show a garage of late-model, high-end vehicles, as well as a Lexus SC430.
The BMWs include a
220i coupe
, an
M3 Competition
sports sedan, and a
7 Series
limousine, all current-generation models.
The lone McLaren is a 765LT with a distinctive black and red exterior, while the two Lamborghinis are an
Aventador Ultimae and an Aventador SVJ
, and the two Ferraris are a
488 GTB and a 488 Pista
.
In addition to the vehicles, the CACT alleges the man's Dural mansion, East Cabramatta business, and various bank accounts 'do not seem to be accounted for by legitimate earnings'.
While the CACT litigates matters in courts, so-called 'restrained assets' are managed on behalf of the Commonwealth by the Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA).
Should the CACT be successful in court, the AFSA will in turn liquidate the assets and the proceeds will go to the Commonwealth Confiscated Assets Account (CAA).
These funds are in turn reinvested in programs which support crime prevention, law enforcement, drug treatment, and diversionary measures related to drug use.
The pharmacist is currently bailed and will next appear before court on June 6, 2025.
He has been charged with:
The maximum respective penalties for these offences are 25 years' imprisonment and 10 years' imprisonment.
The CACT explained the restraint of assets serves as a further deterrent to criminals.
'This approach ensures those who seek to exploit government benefit schemes for financial gain face not only legal consequences, but also the loss of the wealth they sought to accumulate through dishonest means,' said AFP CACT Commander Jason Kennedy.
'When law enforcement recovers illicit gains, it removes the incentive that fuels such crimes and sends a strong deterrent message to others.
'Offenders consider the confiscation of their assets to be as much, or more, of a punishment than a prison sentence, and removing the lure of financial exploitation from the equation shows that crime does not pay.'
The CACT sees the AFP collaborate with the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, the Australian Taxation Office, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre, and the Australian Border Force.
Click an image to view a full gallery of images from the AFP.
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The Advertiser
11 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Transparency gaps cloud $2m Folbigg compensation offer
Secrecy surrounds why Kathleen Folbigg has been offered $2 million for decades of wrongful imprisonment, with concerns the compensation system risks undermining the principles of open justice. The NSW government is refusing to budge on the sum, with the state's premier saying Ms Folbigg would need to go to court for more, despite widespread criticism of the payout amount. High-profile lawyer Sam Tierney said $2 million appeared to be low for her 20 years in jail. Mr Tierney represented David Eastman in his $7 million compensation win against the ACT government after being wrongly convicted of AFP assistant commissioner Colin Winchester's murder. Serious concerns about the transparency of the ex gratia payment process would persist until governments handed over powers to the courts or released reasons for their decision, he said. "It seems only fair and reasonable and sensible that the decision maker would issue reasons explaining why they arrived at a particular figure," Mr Tierney told AAP. "State and commonwealth legislatures should look very seriously at implementing Human Rights Acts so that courts can be empowered to properly review these situations." Ms Folbigg was jailed over the deaths of her four children before being freed in June 2023 after new scientific evidence cast reasonable doubt about her convictions. Premier Chris Minns said her lawyers were free to sue the government if they felt the offer was inadequate, but he wouldn't budge without a court order. "There's no future action that cannot be pursued by Ms Folbigg or her lawyers," he said on Friday. NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley's office declined to comment when asked whether it would release the reasons for the decision. Despite his former client's success, Mr Tierney said Ms Folbigg would struggle to appeal against the offer she received on Thursday. "If there are no reasons issued by the decision maker, then it's very difficult to attack the decision that's been made," the lawyer said. Unlike court-run compensation claims, which have precedents, ex gratia payments are one-off matters and are a decision of state cabinets. Arguing about the viability of a $2 million payment in a state budget of billions of dollars was "a little trite", Mr Tierney said. Against the NSW annual budget of $128 billion, the amount offered to Ms Folbigg represents about 0.0015 per cent. Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said the government's offer was unfair and far too low. "This is all about showing some empathy for someone whose conviction has been overturned," he told Nine's Today show. "Her conviction was wrongful. She suffered enormously." Ms Folbigg's solicitor previously described the payment offer as a "moral affront". "The system has failed Kathleen Folbigg once again," Rhanee Rego said. Greens MP Sue Higginson described it as "an absolute slap in the face". AUSTRALIANS WRONGLY CONVICTED OF HOMICIDE: * Darryl Beamish - convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 1961, paroled in 1971, conviction overturned in 2005. Received $425,000 in 2011. * John Button - convicted of manslaughter in 1963, released in 1968. Conviction quashed and received $400,000 in compensation in 2002. * Lindy Chamberlain - convicted of the murder of her daughter Azaria in 1982, released in 1986 and pardoned in 1988. Received $1.3 million in compensation in 1992. * Andrew Mallard - convicted of murder in 1995, conviction quashed by the High Court and released in 2006. Received $3.25 million in compensation in 2009. * David Eastman - convicted in 1995 of the murder of AFP assistant commissioner Colin Winchester. Conviction quashed and released in 2014. Acquitted on retrial in 2018. Awarded $7 million in compensation in 2019. * Kathleen Folbigg - convicted of the murder of three and manslaughter of one of her children in 2003. Pardoned and released in 2023. Offered $2 million compensation. Secrecy surrounds why Kathleen Folbigg has been offered $2 million for decades of wrongful imprisonment, with concerns the compensation system risks undermining the principles of open justice. The NSW government is refusing to budge on the sum, with the state's premier saying Ms Folbigg would need to go to court for more, despite widespread criticism of the payout amount. High-profile lawyer Sam Tierney said $2 million appeared to be low for her 20 years in jail. Mr Tierney represented David Eastman in his $7 million compensation win against the ACT government after being wrongly convicted of AFP assistant commissioner Colin Winchester's murder. Serious concerns about the transparency of the ex gratia payment process would persist until governments handed over powers to the courts or released reasons for their decision, he said. "It seems only fair and reasonable and sensible that the decision maker would issue reasons explaining why they arrived at a particular figure," Mr Tierney told AAP. "State and commonwealth legislatures should look very seriously at implementing Human Rights Acts so that courts can be empowered to properly review these situations." Ms Folbigg was jailed over the deaths of her four children before being freed in June 2023 after new scientific evidence cast reasonable doubt about her convictions. Premier Chris Minns said her lawyers were free to sue the government if they felt the offer was inadequate, but he wouldn't budge without a court order. "There's no future action that cannot be pursued by Ms Folbigg or her lawyers," he said on Friday. NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley's office declined to comment when asked whether it would release the reasons for the decision. Despite his former client's success, Mr Tierney said Ms Folbigg would struggle to appeal against the offer she received on Thursday. "If there are no reasons issued by the decision maker, then it's very difficult to attack the decision that's been made," the lawyer said. Unlike court-run compensation claims, which have precedents, ex gratia payments are one-off matters and are a decision of state cabinets. Arguing about the viability of a $2 million payment in a state budget of billions of dollars was "a little trite", Mr Tierney said. Against the NSW annual budget of $128 billion, the amount offered to Ms Folbigg represents about 0.0015 per cent. Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said the government's offer was unfair and far too low. "This is all about showing some empathy for someone whose conviction has been overturned," he told Nine's Today show. "Her conviction was wrongful. She suffered enormously." Ms Folbigg's solicitor previously described the payment offer as a "moral affront". "The system has failed Kathleen Folbigg once again," Rhanee Rego said. Greens MP Sue Higginson described it as "an absolute slap in the face". AUSTRALIANS WRONGLY CONVICTED OF HOMICIDE: * Darryl Beamish - convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 1961, paroled in 1971, conviction overturned in 2005. Received $425,000 in 2011. * John Button - convicted of manslaughter in 1963, released in 1968. Conviction quashed and received $400,000 in compensation in 2002. * Lindy Chamberlain - convicted of the murder of her daughter Azaria in 1982, released in 1986 and pardoned in 1988. Received $1.3 million in compensation in 1992. * Andrew Mallard - convicted of murder in 1995, conviction quashed by the High Court and released in 2006. Received $3.25 million in compensation in 2009. * David Eastman - convicted in 1995 of the murder of AFP assistant commissioner Colin Winchester. Conviction quashed and released in 2014. Acquitted on retrial in 2018. Awarded $7 million in compensation in 2019. * Kathleen Folbigg - convicted of the murder of three and manslaughter of one of her children in 2003. Pardoned and released in 2023. Offered $2 million compensation. Secrecy surrounds why Kathleen Folbigg has been offered $2 million for decades of wrongful imprisonment, with concerns the compensation system risks undermining the principles of open justice. The NSW government is refusing to budge on the sum, with the state's premier saying Ms Folbigg would need to go to court for more, despite widespread criticism of the payout amount. High-profile lawyer Sam Tierney said $2 million appeared to be low for her 20 years in jail. Mr Tierney represented David Eastman in his $7 million compensation win against the ACT government after being wrongly convicted of AFP assistant commissioner Colin Winchester's murder. Serious concerns about the transparency of the ex gratia payment process would persist until governments handed over powers to the courts or released reasons for their decision, he said. "It seems only fair and reasonable and sensible that the decision maker would issue reasons explaining why they arrived at a particular figure," Mr Tierney told AAP. "State and commonwealth legislatures should look very seriously at implementing Human Rights Acts so that courts can be empowered to properly review these situations." Ms Folbigg was jailed over the deaths of her four children before being freed in June 2023 after new scientific evidence cast reasonable doubt about her convictions. Premier Chris Minns said her lawyers were free to sue the government if they felt the offer was inadequate, but he wouldn't budge without a court order. "There's no future action that cannot be pursued by Ms Folbigg or her lawyers," he said on Friday. NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley's office declined to comment when asked whether it would release the reasons for the decision. Despite his former client's success, Mr Tierney said Ms Folbigg would struggle to appeal against the offer she received on Thursday. "If there are no reasons issued by the decision maker, then it's very difficult to attack the decision that's been made," the lawyer said. Unlike court-run compensation claims, which have precedents, ex gratia payments are one-off matters and are a decision of state cabinets. Arguing about the viability of a $2 million payment in a state budget of billions of dollars was "a little trite", Mr Tierney said. Against the NSW annual budget of $128 billion, the amount offered to Ms Folbigg represents about 0.0015 per cent. Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said the government's offer was unfair and far too low. "This is all about showing some empathy for someone whose conviction has been overturned," he told Nine's Today show. "Her conviction was wrongful. She suffered enormously." Ms Folbigg's solicitor previously described the payment offer as a "moral affront". "The system has failed Kathleen Folbigg once again," Rhanee Rego said. Greens MP Sue Higginson described it as "an absolute slap in the face". AUSTRALIANS WRONGLY CONVICTED OF HOMICIDE: * Darryl Beamish - convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 1961, paroled in 1971, conviction overturned in 2005. Received $425,000 in 2011. * John Button - convicted of manslaughter in 1963, released in 1968. Conviction quashed and received $400,000 in compensation in 2002. * Lindy Chamberlain - convicted of the murder of her daughter Azaria in 1982, released in 1986 and pardoned in 1988. Received $1.3 million in compensation in 1992. * Andrew Mallard - convicted of murder in 1995, conviction quashed by the High Court and released in 2006. Received $3.25 million in compensation in 2009. * David Eastman - convicted in 1995 of the murder of AFP assistant commissioner Colin Winchester. Conviction quashed and released in 2014. Acquitted on retrial in 2018. Awarded $7 million in compensation in 2019. * Kathleen Folbigg - convicted of the murder of three and manslaughter of one of her children in 2003. Pardoned and released in 2023. Offered $2 million compensation. Secrecy surrounds why Kathleen Folbigg has been offered $2 million for decades of wrongful imprisonment, with concerns the compensation system risks undermining the principles of open justice. The NSW government is refusing to budge on the sum, with the state's premier saying Ms Folbigg would need to go to court for more, despite widespread criticism of the payout amount. High-profile lawyer Sam Tierney said $2 million appeared to be low for her 20 years in jail. Mr Tierney represented David Eastman in his $7 million compensation win against the ACT government after being wrongly convicted of AFP assistant commissioner Colin Winchester's murder. Serious concerns about the transparency of the ex gratia payment process would persist until governments handed over powers to the courts or released reasons for their decision, he said. "It seems only fair and reasonable and sensible that the decision maker would issue reasons explaining why they arrived at a particular figure," Mr Tierney told AAP. "State and commonwealth legislatures should look very seriously at implementing Human Rights Acts so that courts can be empowered to properly review these situations." Ms Folbigg was jailed over the deaths of her four children before being freed in June 2023 after new scientific evidence cast reasonable doubt about her convictions. Premier Chris Minns said her lawyers were free to sue the government if they felt the offer was inadequate, but he wouldn't budge without a court order. "There's no future action that cannot be pursued by Ms Folbigg or her lawyers," he said on Friday. NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley's office declined to comment when asked whether it would release the reasons for the decision. Despite his former client's success, Mr Tierney said Ms Folbigg would struggle to appeal against the offer she received on Thursday. "If there are no reasons issued by the decision maker, then it's very difficult to attack the decision that's been made," the lawyer said. Unlike court-run compensation claims, which have precedents, ex gratia payments are one-off matters and are a decision of state cabinets. Arguing about the viability of a $2 million payment in a state budget of billions of dollars was "a little trite", Mr Tierney said. Against the NSW annual budget of $128 billion, the amount offered to Ms Folbigg represents about 0.0015 per cent. Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said the government's offer was unfair and far too low. "This is all about showing some empathy for someone whose conviction has been overturned," he told Nine's Today show. "Her conviction was wrongful. She suffered enormously." Ms Folbigg's solicitor previously described the payment offer as a "moral affront". "The system has failed Kathleen Folbigg once again," Rhanee Rego said. Greens MP Sue Higginson described it as "an absolute slap in the face". AUSTRALIANS WRONGLY CONVICTED OF HOMICIDE: * Darryl Beamish - convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 1961, paroled in 1971, conviction overturned in 2005. Received $425,000 in 2011. * John Button - convicted of manslaughter in 1963, released in 1968. Conviction quashed and received $400,000 in compensation in 2002. * Lindy Chamberlain - convicted of the murder of her daughter Azaria in 1982, released in 1986 and pardoned in 1988. Received $1.3 million in compensation in 1992. * Andrew Mallard - convicted of murder in 1995, conviction quashed by the High Court and released in 2006. Received $3.25 million in compensation in 2009. * David Eastman - convicted in 1995 of the murder of AFP assistant commissioner Colin Winchester. Conviction quashed and released in 2014. Acquitted on retrial in 2018. Awarded $7 million in compensation in 2019. * Kathleen Folbigg - convicted of the murder of three and manslaughter of one of her children in 2003. Pardoned and released in 2023. Offered $2 million compensation.
9 News
17 hours ago
- 9 News
Why estranged husband didn't go to Erin Patterson's deadly mushroom meal
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here One guest invited to dine at Erin Patterson 's lunch table pulled out the night before as he was "too uncomfortable to attend". But when her estranged husband Simon was called to give evidence to her trial - after she poisoned his parents, aunt and uncle - he was legally unable to explain why. Simon believed Patterson had been trying to poison him since 2021. Erin Patterson sits at the dining room table where she served her guests the lunch as she speaks with police on August 5, 2023. (PR IMAGE) Media were banned from reporting on pre-trial hearing evidence, to allow Patterson time to appeal, but that order was lifted today. The jury did hear about how he claimed he was poisoned and that he had told family about it - including his father Don, who would die from Patterson's cooking. Patterson, 50, was found guilty by a jury on July 7 and convicted of three murders and one attempted murder over a death cap mushroom-laced beef Wellington she served up to Simon's family. He told a pre-trial hearing in 2024 he believed his estranged wife had tried to poison him four times before the toxic beef Wellington lunch. Simon informed his father, sister and cousin in 2022, and joked to Patterson about the alleged poisonings, many of which happened on camping trips together. "Erin was trying to poison him with food in meals that she cooked for him, that only Simon was at risk," his sister Anna Terrington said about what she was told. Simon informed Don about eight months before the mushroom lunch, in November 2022, adding his father suggested he not "tell too many people about that". Simon also told his cousin Tim Patterson, which the killer's estranged husband said was a "turning point", in September of that year. He claimed he "joked" with Patterson before a camping trip that month "she might put something in the food and poison me". The day before the fatal meal, Simon's mother Gail - who did not know about the attempted poisonings - asked him why he wasn't going to the lunch. Erin Patterson was convicted of three counts of murder and one of attempted murder. (Martin Keep AFP) Simon explained he didn't think it would be wise because of "all the things that happened in the recent past with Erin". He said his father Don then helped him "move the conversation on from that question". Don and Gail, 70, would die in hospital along with Gail's sister Heather, 66, days after eating the meal Patterson cooked. Simon told pre-trial hearings he believed he was first poisoned the night before a planned camping trip to Wilson's Promontory in November 2021. He ate penne bolognese made by Patterson and vomited at her home next morning, as well as on the way to the campsite, he said. Patterson arranged accommodation for them instead of camping and the following day he felt like he was "going downhill" and needed to go to hospital. Simon assumed it was gastro and was transferred to Monash Hospital, where he stayed for five days as a doctor was concerned about his kidneys. The second suspected alleged poisoning happened during another camping trip between May 25 and 27, 2022, when Simon said Patterson supplied all of the food. He said he became sick at about midnight and they drove to Mansfield Hospital next morning, when he was given anti-nausea drugs and discharged after the vomiting stopped. Simon Patterson arrives at court on May 2. (Jason South) However, his condition got worse once they returned home and he called Patterson, who took him to hospital. Simon fell into a coma and underwent several surgeries, including one in which part of his bowel was removed. Doctors did not find the cause of the illness, he said. Simon said he stayed with Patterson and their two kids at her Leongatha home for a month while he recovered. His wife cared for him during that time, communicating with his family, cleaning his home, paying his bills and getting his car serviced and a tyre fixed, he said. The jury was shown evidence during the trial that Patterson had accessed a death cap mushroom sighting on the iNaturalist website on May 28, 2022. Weeks later, in July 2022, Simon said Patterson made him a stew for lunch and he began feeling sick by midnight. He was transferred to Monash Hospital but his symptoms abated and he went back to Patterson's home again, staying for two weeks until she became upset and he went home. In September 2022, Patterson wanted to go for a walk with him and she again brought food for the trip, Simon said. After eating a vegetable wrap and curry lunch, he started feeling "uneasy" and "a little unwell". Patterson had the same meal, he said, but without the wrap she had covered in foil and given to him. Simon said he became increasingly sick, so they left and drove to his parents' house before an ambulance was called. He said he began to slur his words on the journey to hospital and lost muscle function. Erin Patterson's estranged husband Simon Patterson. (AAP) By the time he got to hospital he could only move his neck, tongue and lips. He said those symptoms continued until he was given anaesthetic. Prosecutor Nanette Rogers alleged Patterson deliberately "allocated certain foods" to Simon in each suspected poisoning, much like she did in choosing different plates for her beef Wellington lunch guests to her own. But defence lawyers claimed it was not clear whether Simon assisted in preparing some of the meals and said Patterson had eaten the same food. Simon told his GP, Christopher Ford, about the alleged poisonings and removed Patterson from his medical power of attorney about five months before she served up the poisonous beef Wellingtons. "He thought that Erin was trying to poison him," Ford told pre-trial hearings. When Simon told Ford his family were in hospital on the day after the July 2023 lunch, the GP called and alerted his medical colleagues. Heather and Ian Wilkinson went to Leongatha Hospital, while Don and Gail Patterson were at Korumburra Hospital. Ford said he spoke to Leongatha on-call doctor Chris Webster about two people who would be coming to him with food poisoning. He claimed he warned Webster "based on previous events that were going on with some of my patients" it was worth keeping an eye on their electrolytes and to "make sure they're all OK". Ford also tried calling Korumburra Hospital but could not get through and instead drove there to speak to the on-call doctor. He told them there was a chance Don and Gail's symptoms would decline and worried they might have been deliberately poisoned by Patterson, the GP said. Simon started seeing Ford in 2022 and said he told him to compile a spreadsheet of activities and meals before he had fallen ill. "I couldn't understand why these things kept on happening to him, almost three near-death experiences," the doctor said. "It didn't fit into any of the medical models that would account for those things." Ford said he investigated Simon for low potassium after his fourth hospital admission and Simon was referred to specialists including a gastroenterologist and a kidney doctor. Simon was at times told he had gastro, low potassium, hypertension, hyperthyroidism and high cholesterol. During pre-trial, Patterson's barrister Colin Mandy SC said the claims involving Simon could not be proven on the medical evidence and Patterson denied all attempted murder charges. Justice Christopher Beale ruled Patterson should face two trials, one for the murders and one for Simon's alleged attempted murder. However, prosecutors discontinued the latter charges and focused their trial on the murderous lunch. Sign up here to receive our daily newsletters and breaking news alerts, sent straight to your inbox. Erin Patterson Victoria crime murder national CONTACT US
ABC News
21 hours ago
- ABC News
New Erin Patterson details revealed
A picture taken on May 12, 2025 shows Erin Patterson arriving in the back of a prison transport vehicle at Latrobe Valley Magistrate's Court in Morwell, Australia. ( AFP: Martin Keep )
