Poulsen’s fraud case thrown out of court

HARNESS identity Peter Poulsen will seek to recoup legal costs of nearly $50,000 and additional funds after his fraud case was thrown out of Brisbane Magistrates Court last week.

Poulsen was originally charged with match fixing in relation to an Albion Park race in July last year, before the charge was later altered to fraud.

When the matter was brought to a magistrate last week, the charge was dismissed on the basis that the case against Poulsen could not be substantiated and it was foredoomed to fail.

Poulsen’s legal representative Daniel Hannay tipped the case to fall over months ago and had written to prosecutors requesting they review and withdraw the charges.

As late as September 27, Hannay notified officials that Poulsen would bear his own costs in an attempt to amicably resolve the concerns with the Police Prosecutions office should the charge be discontinued by October 30, 2018.

When that offer expired, Hannay wrote on November 2 that “the case against Mr Poulsen was frivolous and that costs above the standard scale would be sought after successfully defending the matter”.

The case went before the courts nine times between March 14 and November 12.

Hannay submitted the final costs incurred by Poulsen were $47,718.

“In the circumstances, it is difficult to assess a more deserving matter than this of costs,” he wrote.

Poulsen’s dismissal adds to a growing list of harness match fixing cases that have failed to stand up in court.

In April, match-fixing cases against Dayl March and Leonard Cain were thrown out of the Brisbane Magistrates Court, where both decisions cited a lack of evidence. They were the first two match-fixing cases to be tried in court after Barton Coburn and Michael Grant pleaded guilty to charges in October 2017.