Fraud case against Daniel Harris set to go to trial in the District Court

Lengthy delays in the local court may be coming to an end, nearly three years after the arrest of the Coffs Harbour man.

After nearly three years of delays, the case against an ex-real estate agent who is currently facing up to 700 fraud-related offences is set to go to trial.

The case against Daniel Harris was mentioned in Coffs Harbour Local Court on Tuesday, where the prosecution informed Magistrate Michael Dakin that discussions had been exhausted, and an agreement was unable to be met between the parties.

They indicated Mr Harris, who denies the allegations, will be committed to stand trial in the District Court.

Mr Harris, an agent turned financial adviser, was first arrested in November 2018 following allegations money was being embezzled from his clients’ self-managed super funds.

Coffs/Clarence detectives had begun investigating the then 42-year-old in August that year.

On the day of his arrest police raided a Bonville home and seized a computer, mobile phones and business papers.

The matter was mentioned in Coffs Harbour Local Court this week.

Mr Harris’ “complex” case has continued to drag on since 2018 with several adjournments being made in the local court. Magistrate Ian Rodgers expressed frustration at his previous June court mention, after a request was made for another two months due to a new lawyer being appointed to the case.

“It’s been going on for so long now that it’s just absurd,” he said.

“I have been inordinately flexible with the history of this matter.”

On Tuesday the prosecution requested another two week adjournment, as the charges were still in the process of being finalised. They said the case against Mr Harris will be ready to commit to the higher court for trial on October 26.

Magistrate Michael Dakin warned time was “of the essence” but agreed to adjourn the matter. He set aside extra time for Mr Harris’ final local court appearance due to the large number of charges to be dealt with.

He will appear in the court again on October 26 where the charges that will go to trial will be confirmed.