Cassie Sainsbury’s lawyer claims he is owed $25,000 as he slams family over lucrative TV deal

THE lawyer for Aussie drug trafficker Cassandra Sainsbury says she still owes him $25,000 in unpaid legal fees, despite her family raking in the cash from a controversial TV deal.

EXCLUSIVE

COCAINE Cassie’s Colombian lawyer says he will drop her as a client if the Australian government doesn’t pay him the $25,000 he says he is owed for defending her.

Labelling Australian authorities racist, Cassie Sainsbury’s lawyer Orlando Herran said he thinks “they won’t treat me fairly for being a foreigner”.

Mr Herran also confirmed Sainsbury’s family was paid for a “substantial TV deal” with Channel 9, but that none of that money has been used to pay his fees or for the 23-year-old’s living expenses.

Jailed cocaine trafficker Cassie Sainsbury during a court hearing in Bogota, Colombia. The 23-year-old allegedly owes her lawyer $25,000. Picture: Vanessa Hunter/ The Australian

Sainsbury’s mother Lisa Evans and 60 Minutes have denied there was a significant payment made for an in-jail interview with the drug mule and former prostitute, saying their deal only covered airfares for her supporters to fly over from Adelaide.

News Corp exclusively revealed Herran was applying for payment under the taxpayer-funded Serious Overseas Criminal Matters Scheme shortly after arrest just over a year ago.

If Mr Herran ditches her, Sainsbury – who is serving a six-year sentence in El Buen Pastor prison for trying to smuggle almost 6kg of cocaine out of Bogota – will likely be assigned a public defender by the Colombian government.

Cassie Sainsbury is serving a six-year sentence in El Buen Pastor prison. Picture: Ivan Valencia

This could impact how long she serves, with several upcoming court hearings to decide whether part of her sentence will be shaved off for good behaviour as well as potential home detention in the South American city.

Another private lawyer in Bogota would not be able to apply for the same Australian taxpayer funded scheme, because it is for defendants facing more than 20 years in jail, and Sainsbury has already been sentenced to far less.

The 23-year-old attempted to smuggle almost six kilograms of cocaine out of Colombia.

Mr Herran says he was paid by the Australian government for work he performed from her arrest on April 12 to August 30 last year. He would not disclose how much he received for this initial representation, saying it was confidential.

He says he is owed $25,000 for defending her between September and December last year, including during Sainsbury’s November trial, as well as a smaller amount for representing her this year.

“I would have worked over six months for free. If I don’t get paid, I’ll have to abandon the case,” he told News Corp Australia.

“The only other person that would be eligible to cover legal costs is Cassandra, but her economic conditions are miserable.

Cassie Sainsbury — with the drug stash hidden in her suitcase — allegedly owes her lawyer thousands.

“I don’t have any contact with her family. I know that they got paid a substantial TV deal but I don’t think they were authorised to pay for legal costs from that. “

Under Australia’s proceeds of crime legislation, convicted criminals cannot materially benefit from any paid media deals, although this is often circumvented by family members stitching up deals and receiving payment on behalf of their loved ones.

“Either way I don’t see that money reflected in Cassandra’s living conditions at all, so I’m not getting my hopes up they will pay me,” Mr Herran said.

Cassie Sainsbury's lawyer, Orlando Herran, says he feels like he is in limbo.

Mr Herran said changing lawyers “won’t affect her sentence per se. But it will affect any benefits she could get - house arrest or days knocked off for good work. She’d need someone to fight her corner on those things and if I don’t get paid, I’m afraid that person won’t be me”.

Mr Herran said his issues getting paid by the Australian government “sends a clear signal they don’t much care about their citizens arrested abroad”.

“I feel like I’m in limbo, between a rock and a hard place. I can’t keep working without knowing if I’m going to get paid but I also feel like I’ve dedicated so much time to this case, so many hours. I don’t want to abandon it, but things might come to that, if I see no chance of things changing,” he said.

Drug mule Cassie Sainsbury in a Facebook photo.

Mr Herran said he was owed roughly US$18,000 ($25,000) for legal costs between September 1 and the end of last year. Asked if he was also planning to bill Australian taxpayers for work performed this year he said he would.

“I exclusively dedicated my time to this, getting a whole team involved. We worked over a year and received good results. Her sentence wasn’t nearly as long as it could have been,” he said.

“I think the Australian government will continue to deny that payment. They have been very slow and the bureaucracy has been maddening. I also believe they won’t treat me fairly for being a foreigner. They need to assume their responsibility and pay me.”

The Serious Overseas Criminal Matters scheme is administered by the Attorney-General’s Department, which will not comment on individuals it has supported.

It is know that it contributed to the defences of Schapelle Corby, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.

Attorney-General Christian Porter called for a review of the scheme in March after it was reported it had paid $500,000 for the defence of accused paedophile and child murderer Peter Scully in the Philippines.