Judge slams fraudster
A JUDGE has offered a scathing assessment of a Cape York traditional owner’s conduct, after he was found guilty at trial of fraudulently obtaining more than $200,000.
Larry Joe Woosup pleaded not guilty to two counts of dishonestly obtaining a benefit of more than $30,000 at the start of his trial in the Cairns District Court last Tuesday.
After beginning deliberations on Wednesday afternoon, the jury returned two guilty verdicts just before 6pm on Thursday.
The Cairns District Court heard how after previous community negotiations with mining company Gulf Alumina had fallen apart, Ankamuthi traditional owner Woosup resumed the task, purporting to represent the Ankamuthi people.
But it was to the exclusion of the broader community that Woosup pursued a mandate he said he had been given by his father, Arthur Woosup, one of the last culturally initiated Ankamuthi men.
Woosup concluded the negotiations with Gulf Alumina in December 2013, agreeing upon a royalty price of 50c per tonne – the same price that had previously been rejected by the community.
He then, through his position as trustee for the community, opened two bank accounts of which he was the only signatory, withdrawing more than $200,000 into his personal account and spending the money on accommodation, food, cars, at pubs, and through ATM withdrawals, the court heard.
“Your offending here involved commercial negotiations in your role as trustee and elder, purporting to represent a community, but you excluded others arrogantly, against legal advice and accounting advice,” Judge Dean Morzone QC said.
“As I look to see how it is you’ve disgraced yourself in this way, I see and acknowledge that you come from a rich cultural background and lineage of statesmanship and leaders, not the least of which is your own father.
“But it seems to me that instead of being a true leader, you dishonoured him in seeking to carry out his mandate.”
Mr Woosup stood impassively in the dock as Judge Morzone made his sentencing remarks.
The court heard how in addition to the $205,000 which Woosup withdrew, a further $145,000 of mining royalties was swallowed up in fees to lawyers and repayments to the Commonwealth Bank, leaving just $1258 in the hands of the Ankamuthi community.
Crown prosecutor Claudia Georgouras described Woosup’s “sophisticated” offending as a gross breach of trust.
Judge Morzone sentenced Woosup to five years imprisonment, to be suspended after serving two years and six months.