Sean Mulqueen fears his dream of building a memorial could fall victim to collateral damage

AS QUEENSLAND police confirm an investigation into the alleged $1.3m fraud of a veterans charity, the fate of a Brisbane project to honour Aussie troops killed in Afghanistan hangs in the balance. And the man hoping to get it off the ground is gutted.

Illustration of Sean Mulqueen by Brett Lethbridge.

SEAN Mulqueen fears his dream project could fall victim to collateral damage.

The Brisbane-based former Army engineer is spearheading a campaign to raise $120,000 to build a memorial garden next to Suncorp Stadium for the 41 Australian troops killed in Afghanistan.

Only about a quarter of the money needed has been generated since late 2016 and he’s hoping a fundraising lunch April 20 at the Queensland Cricketers’ Club will attract a 200-strong crowd to come up with another $10,000 to $15,000.

Poet and media identity Rupert McCall is set to MC the event, which will feature Australia’s most decorated soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, and Paralympic gold medallist Curtis McGrath, who had both of his legs blown off in Afghanistan.

But a pall has been unfairly cast over the volunteer efforts of Mulqueen and his band of 20 or so brothers, a team of Afghan war veterans determined to honour their fallen comrades.

This week it emerged that Walking Wounded, a now-deregistered charity purportedly established to provide counselling and other assistance to veterans of the same conflict, is under investigation by Queensland Police for alleged wrongdoing.

A Police spin doctor confirmed yesterday that the Fortitude Valley CIB is investigating allegations that Walking Wounded founder and former soldier Brian Freeman may have defrauded the group of $1.3 million.

The news arrived like a hammer blow to Mulqueen, who earns a living running a small property maintenance business which employs ex-troops.

“It made me feel sick. It’s going to affect any charity when it comes to trust issues,’’ Mulqueen told City Beat.

“It does worry us on the corporate side of things.’’

With an accounting firm doing the books pro bono, he said the group is happy to talk to prospective donors and show them the ledger.

“We want to be very open about what we’re doing. I’m very passionate about getting this memorial done.’’

Ironically, Mulqueen joined Freeman in 2012 on one of his many crossings of the Kokoda Track but has not been in contact with him since then.

PROADVENTURER

FREEMAN, a former special forces member who spent 20 years in the Army before his discharge in 2001, describes himself as a “world-class professional adventurer’’ and motivational speaker.

He claims to have reached the summit of Mt Everest three times, set world records on 57 crossings of the Kokoda Track and spent 85 days running and kayaking from the tip of Cape York to the bottom of Tasmania.

Climbing, trekking and kayaking clients have allegedly included the likes of Peter Cosgrove, Joe Hockey and Kevin Rudd.

Freeman’s LinkedIn page says he has run his Freeman High Performance business in Brisbane since 2007.

But corporate records show it was only registered in mid-2016, precisely the time that the ATO secured court orders to wind up Freeman’s company Centori over about $90,000 in unpaid taxes.

Perhaps not surprisingly, all reference to Centori has been scrubbed from the LinkedIn page, as has any reference to Walking Wounded, which previously claimed to have raised $5 million for charitable works.

EVEREST BOUND

FREEMAN did not respond to an email yesterday and could not be reached on his mobile phone either.

According to his most recent LinkedIn posting a week ago, Freeman is on his way to Everest Base Camp with a group of mates.

It’s all part of his stated goal of laying 41 poppies in 50 iconic spots around the globe to honour our troops lost in Afghanistan.

But pressure is mounting for Freeman to return a Roll of Honour that he received from the Australian War Memorial in 2015.

Perhaps he’ll find time to do that after knocking off his goals for 2018, which include training to swim the English Channel and running east to west across the entirety of Australia.