Rockhampton drug trafficker Trevor John Williams, 58, jailed over money laundering by using drug proceeds to pay legal bill of $209,011
A convicted drug trafficker from Central Queensland is believed to have used drug proceeds to pay most his $209,011 defence legal bill by making 34 cash deposits in what a Judge described as ‘calculated criminal conduct’.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A convicted Rockhampton drug trafficker is believed to have used drug proceeds to pay his $209,011 defence legal bill.
Trevor John Williams, 58, pleaded guilty on February 8 in Rockhampton District Court to one count of money laundering.
He was charged with this offence after depositing $209,011 into the law firm trust account of his defence lawyers, Shaune Irving and Campbell MacCallum, between September 29, 2016, and March 4, 2020.
Judge Jeff Clarke said Williams engaged Mr Irving and Mr MacCallum of Moloney MacCallum Abdelshahied Lawyers based at the Gold Coast and Ipswich for legal assistance in the drug trafficking case.
“It’s not explained to me how you accrued a legal fee of $209,011 for a sentence,” he said.
Crown prosecutor Nigel Rees said the payments stopped once Williams was sentenced in the Supreme Court in Rockhampton on June 1, 2020, for his “well-established” drug trafficking business.
Judge Clarke said all but about $50,000, which could be linked to withdrawals from bank accounts within seven days before the deposits, was money from drug proceeds.
He said Williams placed the rest of the money – $157,251 – into the lawyers’ account in 34 cash deposits with 32 of them under the $10,000 limit which triggers attraction by AUSTRAC.
Judge Clarke said during proceedings where the director of public prosecution sought to confiscate property which had been unlawfully derived by Williams as a consequence of his drug trafficking operation, Williams swore he never had the financial means to save for a house deposit nor contribute to the purchase of any property.
However, Judge Clarke pointed to the fact Williams’ current defence barrister Jordan Ahlstrand had told the court during money laundering proceedings about the various businesses Williams had purchased and operated over the years.
Those businesses included a nursery at Bouldercombe for four years, a farming business and Joyrides jet ski hire business.
Mr Ahlstrand also told the court Williams had worked at the meatworks for a total of 12 years and for a solar company.
He said Williams sustained an injury while running the farming business which led to selling the business.
Both Mr Rees and Mr Ahlstrand submitted Williams should receive a six-month prison term, to run concurrent with his trafficking sentence, for the money laundering.
Judge Clarke said he was surprised at the submissions as the maximum penalty was 20 years prison and Williams carried out this offence while he was on bail for the trafficking charge.
“In my view, what you engaged in was calculated criminal conduct designed to hide what you had achieved by your criminal activity,” he said.
“Were it not for the submissions made here, I would be imposing a penalty far in excess of that (six months).”
Judge Clarke sentenced Williams to six months prison to run concurrently with the five-year prison term he was serving for drug trafficking (which had a parole eligibility of June 30, 2021), with immediate parole eligibility for the money laundering.
Joint probe to determine cause of fatal CQ boating tragedy
A maritime safety authority probe will dovetail with police investigations into the death of a man in a Central Queensland boating tragedy last weekend.
WATCH: L-plate driver allegedly clocked 164km/h in police sting
A teen motorist allegedly clocked driving 164km/h was one of 576 drivers fined in a Central Queensland road blitz to target dangerous driving. VIDEO, PIC