Fraud doctor’s clinic to be sold

A DISGRACED doctor who defrauded Medicare out of $360,000 will see his former Oxenford practice go under the hammer this month.

Doctor Tony Mufutau Oluwatoyn Bakare ran a number of clinics including Studio Village Oxenford Medical Centre before being charged last year with defrauding Medicare.

Bakare was last week sentenced in the Brisbane District Court to four years in jail after making more than 4000 fake claims between April 2014 and August 2017 for patients he claimed to have treated either while he was overseas or after they had died.

He had pleaded not guilty to a charge of obtaining financial advantage by deception at the start of his trial but a jury found him guilty of the crime.

In sentencing, Judge Tony Moynihan said Bakare engaged in a “persistent course of conduct involving a series of dishonest acts”.

“You were in a position of trust, the Medicare system relies on authorised doctors acting honestly, ” he said.

“The cost of detection and investigation is high and ultimately is passed on to the taxpayer.”

As a result of the court action Bakare’s former practice at 28 Michigan Dve, which he acquired for $595,000 in 2015, is being sold at auction next week by Queensland Police under proceeds of crime action.

Adam Grbcic, of Ray White Broadbeach, who is marketing the property with colleague Dax Roep, said the property was attracting “phenomenal” interest ahead of auction day, partly due to publicity from the court action.

Mr Grbcic said the run-down two-level brick dwelling is adjacent to the Oxenford Boulevard shopping centre and across the road from the Oxenford Medical Professional Centre.

He said most of the interest had come from Gold Coast buyers interested in seeking a material change of use for the 1957sq m site to build a childcare centre, service station or other commercial project.

“We have also had interest from builders and renovators as the property has been condemned and is in a poor state and there is an opportunity to flip the property with minimal major capital works,” he said.

The site carries development approval for a motel, but Mr Grbcic said that was of no interest.

An auction will be held at 6pm at The Sofitel in Broadbeach on February 27.

Main picture: AAP IMAGE Dr Tony Mufutau Oluwatoyn Bakare has been sentenced to four years in prison for fraud and (below) his former Oxenford medical practice.