High-profile lawyer Michael Bosscher guilty of aggravated fraud in excess of $30k

A jury took just one hour to find high-profile defence lawyer, Michael Bosscher, guilty of aggravated fraud in excess of $30,000 and eight counts of falsifying documents.

Michael Bosscher leaves the Supreme Court in Brisbane. Picture: Glenn Campbell/NCANewsWire

One of Queensland’s most high-profile defence lawyers Michael Bosscher is preparing to spend his first night in jail after being found guilty of aggravated fraud in excess of $30,000 and eight counts of falsifying documents.

A jury took just one hour to return its unanimous verdict late Monday after a five-week trial in the Brisbane District Court that had originally been slated to run for three weeks.

Bosscher, 54, was accused of taking dozens of cash payments from clients at his law firm Bosscher Lawyers Pty Ltd on various dates between November 2011 and September 2016.

It was alleged the fraud charge consisted of 81 separate transactions but by the time the Crown closed its case, it conceded it did not have sufficient evidence to prove 24 of those payments.

However the jury only needed to be satisfied that one of the remaining 57 alleged transactions had been proved beyond reasonable doubt in order to convict him of the fraud charge.

In order to find the offending amounted to aggravated fraud, which carries a higher penalty, the six-man, six-woman jury had to find that the payments they found to have been proved added up to more than $30,000.

The jury unanimously agreed the aggravated fraud charge had been proved.

The jury also found Bosscher guilty of involvement in the falsification of cost agreements and memorandums of fees that were requested by the Crime and Corruption Commission in relation to a client convicted of drug trafficking.

Bosscher, 54, represented himself in the lengthy trial before Judge Leanne Clare SC.

Michael Bosscher leaves the Supreme Court in Brisbane. Picture: Glenn Campbell/NCANewsWire

After the verdict was returned, he asked for a four to six-week adjournment to seek legal representation for his sentence.

“It seems inevitable that you will be imprisoned,” Judge Clare said.

Bosscher replied: “Of course your honour, I don’t think anyone would make any submissions to the contrary.”

He was remanded in custody and the case was adjourned for further mention on Friday.

In 2017, Bosscher’s former colleague Timothy Meehan was sentenced to 5½ years’ jail, with a non-parole period of 18 months, for the same charges of aggravated fraud and eight counts of fraudulently falsifying records.

He gave evidence at Bosscher’s trial in return for a reduced sentence, saying Bosscher proposed the arrangement to take cash payments.

He detailed how they would split the money in person, or send text messages saying “keyboard” or “top drawer” when they had left cash in each other’s office.

The court was shown text messages allegedly sent between lawyers including one saying “presents under your keyboards boys” and another that read “more your way on Monday”.