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Crimes We Prosecute

Latest News

The CDPP Sydney office is now located at 52 World Square, 52 Goulburn Street, Sydney, NSW.  

Physical access to the offices is via reception on Level 19. 

Telephone numbers, email addresses and postal address remain the same: 

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) Corporate Plan 2024–28 is now available and aims to guide and connect our strategic themes, as well as annual business and operational planning across our national prosecution practice through to 2028.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) Raelene Sharp KC confirmed that on 1 June 2024, Warren Day will join the CDPP on secondment for 6 months, as the Director’s Executive Officer. 

On 5 March 2024, CDPP staff acknowledged the 40 year anniversary of the Office being established.

The CDPP’s Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2024-26 is now available.

The CDPP has launched a range of branded cultural elements which were designed by

Federal Attorney-General, the Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP, today announced the appointment of Ms Raelene Sharp KC as the next Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
The CDPP 2022-23 Annual Report was tabled in Parliament on 18 October 2023.

The CDPP’s Corporate Plan 2023–27 is now available.

Case Reports

2024

Location:
New South Wales
Serious Financial and Corporate Crime

On 2 September 2024, Tony Iervasi was sentenced in the New South Wales Supreme Court to 11 years’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of seven years. This followed a plea of guilty to four counts of engaging in dishonest conduct in relation to a financial product or financial service and one count of carrying on an unlicensed financial services business, contrary to ss 1041G and 911A of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act) respectively.

Location:
Victoria
Serious Financial and Corporate Crime

On 3 November 2021, Ms Tahra Wyntjes registered herself as a sole trader for a business purportedly providing cleaning services. Between 17 November 2021 and 11 March 2022, she lodged 27 false Business Activity Statements (BAS) with the ATO, comprising eight original BAS and 19 amended BAS lodgements. In the BAS, she overstated the total sales, GST on sales and GST on purchases purportedly made for her cleaning business. Ms Wyntjes did not carry on any business activity and had no business income or expenses throughout the period of offending.

Location:
New South Wales
Serious Financial and Corporate Crime

In 2019, two Sydney skip bin and waste processing businesses, Bingo Industries and Aussie Skips Bin Services and Aussie Skips Recycling (Aussie Skips) and their respective CEOs, Daniel Tartak and Emmanuel Roussakis, engaged in cartel conduct by agreeing to set higher prices for their building and demolition waste services.

Location:
Queensland
Serious Financial and Corporate Crime

The Queensland Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by Dr Roger Munro against the sentence imposed on him following conviction for three counts of fraud.

Location:
South Australia
Serious Financial and Corporate Crime

Shaun Both of South Australia lodged 9 quarterly Business Activity Statements with the ATO. As a result of false statements in the BAS, in circumstances where the café had ceased trading, the offender dishonestly obtained $1,001,004 in GST.

Location:
Victoria
Organised Crime and National Security

Di Sanh Duong was the first person in Australia to be convicted of a foreign interference offence since the National Security Legislation Amendment (Espionage and Foreign Interference) Bill amended the Criminal Code in 2018.

Location:
South Australia
Human Exploitation and Border Protection

Partner Agency: South Australia Police

On 17 April 2024, the High Court handed down judgment in the matter of Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) v Kola [2024] HCA 14. In doing so, the Court unanimously allowed the CDPP’s appeal. The case concerned elements and directions that are permissible in conspiracy cases, and also the operation of the co-conspirators’ rule.  

Location:
Queensland
Fraud and Specialist Agencies

Date of Judgment: 21 December 2023

Court: District Court of Queensland

Partner Agency: Services Australia

On 8 December 2020, Mr Henery Baranaba Nghath of Redbank QLD, was charged with 5 offences of defrauding the Commonwealth of $94,777.82 by fraudulently claiming disaster recovery payments. 

Location:
Australia
Human Exploitation and Border Protection

On 13 March 2024, the High Court handed down judgment in the matters of Hurt v R; Delzotto v R [2024] HCA 8. In doing so, the Court unanimously dismissed both Mr Hurt’s and Mr Delzotto’s appeals and confirmed the CDPP’s approach to the mandatory minimum sentencing provisions in ss 16AAA, 16AAB and 16AAC of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth).

Location:
New South Wales
Human Exploitation and Border Protection

Between July 2015 and August 2019, Collen Teoxon Dixon travelled to the Philippines and engaged in, or attempted to engage in, sexual intercourse with children under 16 years of age and produced child pornography material (by recording this offending) on multiple occasions. Mr Dixon’s offending involved at least thirteen child victims.

Location:
Queensland
Human Exploitation and Border Protection

Willie Arthur Mareko was charged with 18 offences contrary to provisions of the Criminal Code (Cth). Mr Mareko pleaded guilty to all offences and on 19 September 2023, Justice Crow of the Supreme Court of Queensland sentenced Mr Mareko to a total sentence of 14 years imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 8 years.

Location:
Victoria
Fraud and Specialist Agencies
Carson Au submitted 76 false Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) claims, was investigated, charged and pleaded guilty to one charge of Obtaining a Financial Advantage by Deception contrary to s134.2(1) of the Criminal Code and one further charge of Obtaining a Financial Advantage by Deception contrary to s134.2(1) of the Criminal Code on a 16BA Schedule. On 2 February 2023, he was sentenced to of 2 years of imprisonment with 8 months to be served in custody before being released on a $5000 good behaviour bond for 2 years.
Location:
Western Australia
Serious Financial and Corporate Crime
On 1 December 2023, Mr Peter Landau of Claremont Western Australia, a former company director of ASX-listed companies Continental Coal Limited (Continental Coal) and Citation Resources Limited (Citation), was convicted of 8 counts of stealing and other dishonesty offences contrary to both Commonwealth and Western Australian state law.

2023

Location:
New South Wales
Serious Financial and Corporate Crime
On 11 July 2023, following a 6-week trial in the Supreme Court of NSW, Mr Jonatan Kelu and Mr Cedric Millner were each found guilty of 2 counts of conspiring to dishonestly cause a loss to the Commonwealth, for their role in committing gold bullion fraud over a 2-year period. In total they defrauded the Commonwealth of $40,911,685. The CDPP successfully prosecuted the matter and on 11 July 2023, Mr Kelu and Mr Milner were each convicted of an offence contrary to s135.4(3) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth). On 15 December 2023 they were sentenced to 8 years’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of 4 years and 6 months.
Location:
Victoria
Human Exploitation and Border Protection
On 23 April 2021, a Victorian Supreme Court jury found Mrs Kumunthini Kannan and Mr Kandasamy Kannan guilty of possessing and using a person as a domestic slave in their Melbourne home. This followed an investigation by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and lengthy prosecution by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
Location:
Northern Territory
Fraud and Specialist Agencies
Two men from New South Wales, who asserted themselves as ‘sovereign citizens’, failed to appear in court and the matters proceeded in their absence. They were found guilty in absentia and convicted on all 8 charges. Fines were imposed for each charge, amounting to a total fine of $8,600 for each offender.
Location:
New South Wales
Organised Crime and National Security
NSW man Hamdi Alqudsi directed the activities of a terrorist organisation in Australia that planned terrorist acts and supported hostilities overseas. Prosecutors worked on the matter for four years, resulting in a successful outcome for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, with Mr Alqudsi being sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment in April 2023.
Location:
Western Australia
Fraud and Specialist Agencies
Following Australia’s deepest ever commercial dive, DOF Subsea Australia Pty Ltd (DOF) was fined $945,000 and ordered to pay $97,597 in costs due to its failures to take reasonably practicable steps to protect the health and safety of deep sea divers engaged to work at a depth of between 237 and 270 metres.
Location:
Australia
Serious Financial and Corporate Crime
Corporate offenders found to be engaged in foreign bribery are likely to face higher penalties after the High Court unanimously upheld an appeal in its August 2023 decision in The King v Jacobs Group (Australia) Pty Ltd. The decision is a win for the CDPP which presented arguments before the High Court. The appeal focused on the Court’s interpretation of s70.2(5)(b) of the Criminal Code (Cth) and held that the maximum penalty must be set with reference to the gross value of the benefit obtained from the offending, as opposed to the net value after the expense of the offending was offset. The ruling is also likely to affect calculating penalties under s70.2(5) of the Criminal Code in a range of cases pursuant to the Corporations Act and the Competition and Consumer Act, including cartel conduct, misleading or deceptive conduct, market manipulation and insider trading.
Location:
New South Wales
Organised Crime and National Security
Wade Homewood engaged in terrorism offences for almost 3 years, motivated by right wing extremism. He was investigated, arrested and charged with terrorism offences contrary to s80.2C(1) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth), and a firearms offence contrary to s40(1) of the Firearms Act 1996 (NSW).
Location:
Victoria
Serious Financial and Corporate Crime

Linden Phillips submitted fraudulent GST claims, was audited, investigated, charged and pleaded guilty to two charges of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage from the Commonwealth contrary to s134.2(1) of the Criminal Code, one charge of attempting to dishonestly obtain a financial advantage from the Commonwealth contrary to sections 11.1 and 134.2(1) of the Criminal Code and one charge of dealing in proceeds of crime worth $100,000 or more contrary to s400.4(1) of the Criminal Code.

Location:
South Australia
Human Exploitation and Border Protection

On 21 December 2022, Judge Davison of the District Court of South Australia sentenced Cameron Bowen for both Commonwealth and state child exploitation offences occurring over a period of more than 5 years.

Location:
New South Wales
Serious Financial and Corporate Crime

The story of one of Australia’s largest and most complex criminal tax fraud enterprises is almost complete after years of the conspiracies operating, blackmail by co-offenders, a subsequent AFP/ATO investigation including surveillance and finally numerous prosecutions by the CDPP.