On 10 July 2019, a financial advisor who stole $4.8 million from his clients was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, with a non-parole period of seven years. James Gibbs (51) was sentenced in the District Court in Adelaide, after stealing the money from 30 victims who were retired or preparing for retirement between 2009 and 2016.
Australians lose millions every year to online dating and romance scams. Lured in by the prospect of finding true love, victims hand over their hearts and money to scammers who create fake online profiles targeting dating websites, apps and social media.
On 2 August 2019, Japanese shipping company Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd (K-Line) was convicted of criminal cartel conduct and fined $34.5 million: the largest ever criminal fine imposed under the Competition and Consumer Act.
On 10 September 2019, Letetia Anne Ware (53) was sentenced in the Hobart Supreme Court to 11 months’ imprisonment, after pleading guilty to 10 aggravated charges of illegal importation of plants.
The court directed that Ms Ware be released after serving two months of her sentence, upon entering into a recognizance of $2,000, and be of good behaviour for three years.
Drug duo jailed for importing nearly 500kg of MDMA
On 9 October 2016, Australian Border Force (ABF) officers examined a container at Port Botany in Sydney and found 493.27kg of a brown crystalline substance hidden inside 20 pallets of aluminium rolls.
The substance was carefully concealed within the two middle aluminium rolls on each pallet.
On 12 April 2019, Mr Sergio Amaranti was sentenced to two years and nine months’ imprisonment, to be released after 18 months upon entering into a Recognisance Release Order, in the District Court of Western Australia after earlier pleading guilty to seven counts of dishonest conduct.
On 15 March 2019, former financial planner Gabriel Nakhl was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of six years, after he took approximately $5.1 million of his clients’ investment funds and used it for his own purposes. Reparation orders totalling $4.6 million were made in favour of the victims.
On 8 February 2019, 19-year-old Jewel Victoria Griffiths was sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment for importing 121.76 milligrams of carfentanyl into Australia with no commercial intent. She will be eligible for release on recognisance after five months, subject to paying $5000 and being of good behaviour for six months.
A 54 year old Brisbane man, Peter Gooding, appeared before the District Court of Queensland on 13 December 2018 and was convicted of 76 charges of aiding his company, Storetrans Pty Ltd, trading as Goodings Container Transport, to deal with goods at non-quarantine approved premises without the permission of a quarantine officer or a director of quarantine.
On 22 November 2018, Ahmad Zia Alizadah, 35, was sentenced in the District Court of Western Australia to 9 years’ jail with a non-parole period of 4.5 years, for smuggling asylum seekers on boats from Indonesia.
On 9 October 2018, Troy Stanley Gould pleaded guilty in the District Court at Brisbane to one count of attempting to utter counterfeit currency and two counts of possessing counterfeit currency. Gould was sentenced to a total effective sentence of 18 months imprisonment and ordered to be released immediately.
On 5 October 2018, Ms Akal Kaur Khalsa was sentenced in the Downing Centre District Court to 12 months’ imprisonment to be served by way of an Intensive Corrections Order, for eight offences involving:
On Friday, 9 November 2018, a 38-year-old female (name suppressed) was sentenced in the County Court of Victoria in Melbourne for dishonestly causing a loss to the Commonwealth by submitting false claims for child care rebates. The offender was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment and eligible for release on recognisance after 9 months, subject to a good behaviour condition for 3 years.
On 31 October, Luca Silverii, previously owner and practice manager of ‘Allmed’, a medical clinic in Melbourne, was jailed for defrauding the Commonwealth of $3,371,033.25 in respect of fraudulent claims he submitted between 24 December 2011 and 27 December 2016 for medical services purportedly provided by staff of the clinic. The services were, in fact, never rendered.
On 1 November 2018, Richard Ramos, 41, was sentenced to 23 months’ jail after he was found guilty of a range of offences relating to online child pornography material.
A 39-year-old Sydney man, David Leslie Grubb was convicted for child exploitation offences—using a carriage service, to procure a person under 16 years of age for sexual activity and for possessing child abuse material. Grubb was also sentenced for separate state offences.
On 8 February 2018, Brent Philip Counsell was convicted of 10 charges of possessing an endangered species and 4 charges of importing endangered fauna and flora. Counsell was fined a total of $5,500, and placed on a good behaviour bond for 24 months.
On 6 February 2018, Martin Brook, Lee Kringsberg and Matthew Skelton were each convicted for the offence of walking in a Commonwealth reserve other than on road or track. Each individual was fined $1,000 and each were ordered to pay more than $3,000 in reparation.
On Friday, 31 August 2018, Henry Sabbah was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months’ jail by her Honour Judge Girdham SC, after he was found with a satchel containing $31,550 in counterfeit $50 banknotes in April 2016.
On 27 July 2018, Yunhui Xue, a 26-year-old Chinese national who had overstayed his student visa, was sentenced to five years and six months’ imprisonment for smuggling 11.32kg of ephedrine contained in two consignments into Australia.
Following a lengthy 10-week trial in the Supreme Court of Western Australia, seven men involved in trying to smuggle 182kgs (145.6kgs pure) of methamphetamine onto a remote beach in Western Australia, were collectively jailed for over 164 years.
