Solicitor Marcel Joukhador sues police, state prosecutors claiming wrongful arrest, false imprisonment

It took two years for Marcel Joukhador to clear his name after he was wrongly charged with CTP fraud. He is taking the state to court over its handling of the case.

Sydney solicitor Marcel Joukhador is suing police for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment after he was apprehended in 2017 at his law offices and charged with fraud. Picture: Christian Gilles

The morning of September 20, 2017 began like any other for Marcel Joukhador. He woke up early, checked his emails, went for a run, then headed to the offices of his personal injury firm, Harrow Legal,

By nightfall, he was sharing a jail cell with a would-be axe-murderer.

Less than half an hour after his firm had opened for business that day, police officers attached to a cross-agency task force investigating CTP insurance fraud arrived with handcuffs, a video camera and a warrant for his arrest.

Mr Joukhador was taken to Auburn Police Station, held in custody overnight, then charged with a string of fraud offences.

Police alleged he was running a racket out of his law firm in which he fraudulently paid $2,000 to a third party from settlement sums awarded to clients in 10 cases, totalling $20,000.

Mr Joukhador claims he lost millions of dollars in potential revenue as a result of being unable to practice law for two years following his arrest. Picture: Christian Gilles

He spent six days behind bars on remand, wearing the same suit he’d arrived at work in that Wednesday morning, before being granted strict conditional bail.

At the same time, his legal practising certificate was suspended and his reputation and client base took a massive hit.

Mr Joukhador was eventually vindicated in 2019 when prosecutors dropped all charges against him and paid his legal costs, but the father of two says the case should never have been brought in the first place.

He is now suing the state for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment, claiming the two-year ordeal cost him millions of dollars in lost work revenue and damaged his reputation beyond repair.

“My brand is severely damaged, including all the hard work I undertook to bring the firm to where it was; it was a thriving law firm, one that I built from scratch.” he told The Daily Telegraph of the lasting impact of the failed prosecution.

“My reputation is ruined.

“The police have to understand that when they arrest someone, that there is a ripple effect to that situation. It not only effects the persons livelihood but also family, friends, employees and colleagues”.

Mr Joukhador described his two-year ordeal as a “nightmare”, revealing the first night in the police station he was forced to share a cell with a man who stood accused of attempting to kill his own mother with an axe.

He said both that man and others inmates tried to extort him for money while he was behind bars, especially after seeing media reports alleging Mr Joukhador had made an extraordinary sum of money from his “fraudulent” activities.

“Because it was reported I’d made $11 million, the prisoners thought I was wealthy,” he said.

“They gave me a week to come up with protection money.”

Mr Joukhador believes he would have been the victim of a serious assault if he’d remained in custody another night.

In a statement of claim filed in the NSW Supreme Court, Mr Joukhador alleges police investigating his case acted maliciously in arresting and prosecuting him “in the absence of any reasonable and probably cause” as to his guilt.

He also claims the public release of footage of his arrest, followed by a NSW Police media conference, further aggravated the situation and called for the awarding of both aggravated and exemplary damages.

The case will come before court for the first time on July 12.

The state is yet to file a defence to the proceedings.