The Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) has successfully recovered more than $11.8 million worth of assets for the State from former Queensland Health employee Hohepa Hikairo Morehu-Barlow through proceeds of crime action in the Supreme Court in Brisbane today.
The CMC’s Proceeds of Crime team worked closely with the Queensland Police Service (QPS) to identify and freeze an estimated $12,087,352 worth of assets associated with Morehu-Barlow through nine separate restraining orders between December 2011 and December 2012.
The Public Trustee has been holding restrained assets in trust, including the proceeds from items that have been sold.
After the criminal proceedings involving Morehu-Barlow were finalised, the CMC sought formal court orders to have restrained assets forfeited to the State.
Today the Supreme Court in Brisbane granted a forfeiture order worth approximately $11.88 million, which was calculated after the costs of selling property had been deducted.
The forfeited assets include the contents of nine bank accounts, proceeds from the sale of Morehu-Barlow’s New Farm property, and proceeds from the sale of artworks and other goods.
The Supreme Court also granted a proceeds assessment order in the amount of $20,058,389, which is the total benefit derived from Morehu-Barlow’s criminal activity. This order includes the total value of the fraud he committed on Queensland Health ($16,690,037) as well as interest calculated from the date of each fraud ($3,368,352).
The court order offsets the value of the forfeited assets against the value of the proceeds assessment order. This returns all possible assets to the State, while recognising the full cost of Morehu-Barlow’s fraud.
The CMC’s acting director of financial investigations David Goody said proceeds from the forfeited assets would be paid into Queensland’s consolidated revenue, including any interest accrued while assets were held in trust.
“The CMC has conducted an extensive financial investigation to identify and return every dollar possible to the State of Queensland,” he said.
“The CMC’s decision to seek forfeiture of all assets also ensures that Mr Morehu-Barlow will not retain any benefit from his crimes.
This sends a strong deterrent message to anyone who would attempt to defraud the State that their crimes will not pay.”
Since 2003 when the Criminal Proceeds Confiscation Act 2002 came into force, the CMC has returned $55,504,787 to the State and restrained $162,933,756 worth of assets.
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