Ferraris, Lamborghinis, McLaren seized in PBS fraud probe of Sydney pharmacist
A collection of exotic vehicles has been seized from a New South Wales pharmacist who allegedly made false claims under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) for almost a decade.
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.
Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. Supplied Credit: CarExpert
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. Supplied Credit: CarExpert
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. Supplied Credit: CarExpert
The pharmacist is currently bailed and will next appear before court on June 6, 2025.
He has been charged with: Two counts of dealing in proceeds of crime worth $1 million or more, contrary to section 400.3(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth)
Two counts of dishonesty causing a loss to the Commonwealth, contrary to section 135.1(3) of the Criminal Code (Cth)
The maximum respective penalties for these offences are 25 years' imprisonment and 10 years' imprisonment. Supplied Credit: CarExpert Supplied Credit: CarExpert
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
13 hours ago
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Call for federal police to examine death in custody
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"Kumanjayi White died the same way," she said in a statement on Thursday, citing an eyewitness account of the supermarket incident. "Since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody in 1991 at least 595 of our people have died in custody ... and not a single police or prison officer has ever been held criminally accountable," the senator said. On Wednesday evening, hundreds of people attended a candle-lit vigil outside the NT parliament in tribute to Mr White and to support his grieving desert community. A large banner stating "We stand with Yuendumu" was displayed in front of the parliament's entrance while another banner laid on the ground read "Justice for White". Organisers invited people to light candles or lay flowers following speeches highlighting the mistrust of police in Aboriginal communities and the need for an external inquiry into Mr White's death. Justice Not Jails spokesperson Jade Richie said "no police should be investigating police" in a death-in-custody case. Her group is organising a "national week of action" in response to Mr White's death, with vigils planned across the country. The Yuendumu community also lost 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker in 2019 when he was fatally shot by then NT police officer Zachary Rolfe during a bungled arrest. Mr Rolfe was in 2022 found not guilty of all charges over the death. The Kumanjayi Walker coronial findings have been postponed until July 7 after Kumanjayi White's death in custody. Federal Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy said on Thursday an independent death in custody probe might be warranted "in the interest of having some separation". 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 Federal police should take over the investigation into the death in custody of a young Aboriginal man as a "step towards healing and justice", an Indigenous MP says. Northern Territory MP Marion Scrymgour said a criminal investigation was a job "only police can undertake" but it did not have to be conducted by NT detectives when federal police could step in. Her call comes amid growing pressure for an independent investigation into the death of mentally disabled man Kumanjayi White on May 27. He died shortly after being forcibly restrained by two plain-clothes police officers in a supermarket in Alice Springs. Police allege the 24-year-old, originally from the outback community of Yuendumu, was shoplifting and had assaulted a security guard who confronted him in the confectionery aisle. NT Police and Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro have strongly rejected calls for an external investigation, saying police are the right authority to carry out an investigation coupled with a coronial inquiry. Ms Scrymgour, the federal member for Lingiari, said at the end of the day it had to be a police decision whether to lay criminal charges. "But it doesn't have to be NT Police officers who undertake the task," she said in a statement. Having the AFP take over would extract NT detectives from a role which would subject them to scrutiny and criticism as well as enable the Yuendumu community to have full confidence in the process, the MP said. "Just as happened during the COVID lockdown period, police officers from outside the NT can be brought in." Meanwhile, outspoken senator Lidia Thorpe said Friday marked five years since the global Black Lives Matter mobilisation sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in the US, with an officer's knee on his neck. "Kumanjayi White died the same way," she said in a statement on Thursday, citing an eyewitness account of the supermarket incident. "Since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody in 1991 at least 595 of our people have died in custody ... and not a single police or prison officer has ever been held criminally accountable," the senator said. On Wednesday evening, hundreds of people attended a candle-lit vigil outside the NT parliament in tribute to Mr White and to support his grieving desert community. A large banner stating "We stand with Yuendumu" was displayed in front of the parliament's entrance while another banner laid on the ground read "Justice for White". Organisers invited people to light candles or lay flowers following speeches highlighting the mistrust of police in Aboriginal communities and the need for an external inquiry into Mr White's death. Justice Not Jails spokesperson Jade Richie said "no police should be investigating police" in a death-in-custody case. Her group is organising a "national week of action" in response to Mr White's death, with vigils planned across the country. The Yuendumu community also lost 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker in 2019 when he was fatally shot by then NT police officer Zachary Rolfe during a bungled arrest. Mr Rolfe was in 2022 found not guilty of all charges over the death. The Kumanjayi Walker coronial findings have been postponed until July 7 after Kumanjayi White's death in custody. Federal Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy said on Thursday an independent death in custody probe might be warranted "in the interest of having some separation". 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 Federal police should take over the investigation into the death in custody of a young Aboriginal man as a "step towards healing and justice", an Indigenous MP says. Northern Territory MP Marion Scrymgour said a criminal investigation was a job "only police can undertake" but it did not have to be conducted by NT detectives when federal police could step in. Her call comes amid growing pressure for an independent investigation into the death of mentally disabled man Kumanjayi White on May 27. He died shortly after being forcibly restrained by two plain-clothes police officers in a supermarket in Alice Springs. Police allege the 24-year-old, originally from the outback community of Yuendumu, was shoplifting and had assaulted a security guard who confronted him in the confectionery aisle. NT Police and Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro have strongly rejected calls for an external investigation, saying police are the right authority to carry out an investigation coupled with a coronial inquiry. Ms Scrymgour, the federal member for Lingiari, said at the end of the day it had to be a police decision whether to lay criminal charges. "But it doesn't have to be NT Police officers who undertake the task," she said in a statement. Having the AFP take over would extract NT detectives from a role which would subject them to scrutiny and criticism as well as enable the Yuendumu community to have full confidence in the process, the MP said. "Just as happened during the COVID lockdown period, police officers from outside the NT can be brought in." Meanwhile, outspoken senator Lidia Thorpe said Friday marked five years since the global Black Lives Matter mobilisation sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in the US, with an officer's knee on his neck. "Kumanjayi White died the same way," she said in a statement on Thursday, citing an eyewitness account of the supermarket incident. "Since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody in 1991 at least 595 of our people have died in custody ... and not a single police or prison officer has ever been held criminally accountable," the senator said. On Wednesday evening, hundreds of people attended a candle-lit vigil outside the NT parliament in tribute to Mr White and to support his grieving desert community. A large banner stating "We stand with Yuendumu" was displayed in front of the parliament's entrance while another banner laid on the ground read "Justice for White". Organisers invited people to light candles or lay flowers following speeches highlighting the mistrust of police in Aboriginal communities and the need for an external inquiry into Mr White's death. Justice Not Jails spokesperson Jade Richie said "no police should be investigating police" in a death-in-custody case. Her group is organising a "national week of action" in response to Mr White's death, with vigils planned across the country. The Yuendumu community also lost 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker in 2019 when he was fatally shot by then NT police officer Zachary Rolfe during a bungled arrest. Mr Rolfe was in 2022 found not guilty of all charges over the death. The Kumanjayi Walker coronial findings have been postponed until July 7 after Kumanjayi White's death in custody. Federal Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy said on Thursday an independent death in custody probe might be warranted "in the interest of having some separation". 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 Federal police should take over the investigation into the death in custody of a young Aboriginal man as a "step towards healing and justice", an Indigenous MP says. Northern Territory MP Marion Scrymgour said a criminal investigation was a job "only police can undertake" but it did not have to be conducted by NT detectives when federal police could step in. Her call comes amid growing pressure for an independent investigation into the death of mentally disabled man Kumanjayi White on May 27. He died shortly after being forcibly restrained by two plain-clothes police officers in a supermarket in Alice Springs. 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Meanwhile, outspoken senator Lidia Thorpe said Friday marked five years since the global Black Lives Matter mobilisation sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in the US, with an officer's knee on his neck. "Kumanjayi White died the same way," she said in a statement on Thursday, citing an eyewitness account of the supermarket incident. "Since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody in 1991 at least 595 of our people have died in custody ... and not a single police or prison officer has ever been held criminally accountable," the senator said. On Wednesday evening, hundreds of people attended a candle-lit vigil outside the NT parliament in tribute to Mr White and to support his grieving desert community. A large banner stating "We stand with Yuendumu" was displayed in front of the parliament's entrance while another banner laid on the ground read "Justice for White". Organisers invited people to light candles or lay flowers following speeches highlighting the mistrust of police in Aboriginal communities and the need for an external inquiry into Mr White's death. Justice Not Jails spokesperson Jade Richie said "no police should be investigating police" in a death-in-custody case. Her group is organising a "national week of action" in response to Mr White's death, with vigils planned across the country. The Yuendumu community also lost 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker in 2019 when he was fatally shot by then NT police officer Zachary Rolfe during a bungled arrest. Mr Rolfe was in 2022 found not guilty of all charges over the death. The Kumanjayi Walker coronial findings have been postponed until July 7 after Kumanjayi White's death in custody. Federal Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy said on Thursday an independent death in custody probe might be warranted "in the interest of having some separation". 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636
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Courier-Mail
a day ago
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Don't miss out on the headlines from World. Followed categories will be added to My News. Satellite images analysed by experts have confirmed Ukraine's claim that it destroyed crucial elements of Vladimir Putin's air power during its surprise operation deep inside Russia earlier this week. The raid, codenamed Operation Spider's Web, took 18 months to plan and execute. Ukraine smuggled drones across the Russian border, hidden in trucks, which then drove to the sites of military bases. One penetrated as far as Siberia, more than 4000 kilometres away from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. At a co-ordinated moment, the trucks released their drones, which then attacked while being controlled remotely. Ukraine pulled off the extraordinary operation with near-total secrecy, and all its operatives successfully made it back across the border. Even the United States, whose intelligence and military aid have been vital throughout the war, was not warned beforehand. 'Planning, organisation, every detail was perfectly executed. It can be said with confidence that this was an absolutely unique operation,' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said when it was over. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky. Picture:In the immediate aftermath of the operation, Ukraine's security forces claimed to have taken out about a third of Russia's strategic bombers, partially crippling Putin's capacity to launch long-distance missile strikes. Lieutenant General Vasyl Malyuk, head of the Security Service, put the tally at 41 aircraft, encompassing both Tu-95 and Tu-22 bombers. It turns out that was not even the full extent of the damage. According to American military correspondent David Axe (fitting name, no?), the Ukrainian attacks on Russian bases appear to have diminished Russia's already dwindling supply of A-50s – an expensive type of surveillance aircraft, equipped with a powerful radar, whose chief purpose is to co-ordinate operations involving fighter jets and bombers. When Putin first invaded Ukraine, in February of 2022, he reportedly had nine active A-50s. By February of this year, that had fallen to seven, or perhaps even fewer, as Ukraine claimed to have destroyed at least two of them. One of the air bases targeted in Operation Spider's Web, in Ivanovo Oblast, is known to have housed A-50 aircraft, as captured by satellite imagery last month. Another photographic image, taken after the attack, showed at least one of the craft damaged. An overview of the Ivanovo air base, which was among those targeted by Ukraine. Picture: Maxar Technologies/AFP Two undamaged A-50 aircraft, captured in satellite images, before the Ukrainian attacks last month. Picture: Maxar Technologies/AFP The reconnaissance planes are hard to replace, and the cost – hundreds of millions of dollars – is not the only problem. After the aforementioned pair were lost earlier this year, Ukraine said Russia was trying to replace their capability with drones, as a sort of stopgap measure. 'It's certainly plausible that Russians are scrambling drones to plug some of the gaps,' drone expert Steve Wright told Newsweek at the time. 'But it's certainly not a one-for-one replacement.' 'That is hard to replicate with drones which, even if equipped with radar, lack the size and power to provide comparable radar coverage,' agreed Frederik Mertens, an analyst at The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies. Satellite images from commercial firms have granted a valuable window into Ukraine-Russia war since Putin's invasion began. That these latest images show smouldering wreckage deep within Russia, though, is a fact that demonstrates the astonishing success of Ukraine's operation. An image from AviVector, showing the damage at Olenya air base. Another example, from geospatial intelligence consultant Chris Biggers. Wreckage at Belaya air base. Picture: Maxar Technologies/AFP Defence analysis website The War Zone this week reiterated its previous assessment that 'Russia would not have to lose very many bombers, as well as A-50s, to' suffer a significant negative impact. 'Even taking one or two bombers out of operation will impact the Russian Aerospace Forces. The bomber triad has played a key role in launching the barrages of cruise missiles that have regularly struck targets across Ukraine,' the site noted. 'At the same time, these aircraft are an integral part of Russia's nuclear deterrent. This makes them a matter of great prestige, but also a critical element in Russia's ability to launch nuclear or conventional air strikes against targets outside of Ukraine. 'These aircraft are also regularly used for long-range patrols over Europe and Asia, also venturing as far as the coast of Alaska, and for irregular visits to strategic allies. 'Wiping out a significant portion of one prong of the nuclear triad – the most flexible part of it – has an impact on the credibility of Russia's overall deterrent.' Originally published as Satellite images show the extent of the damage after Ukraine's daring operation deep inside Russia
