Cancer con blogger Belle Gibson snubs Federal Court penalty hearing
A JUDGE tasked to penalise Belle Gibson says the cancer con has shown “no positive indication of contrition or remorse” as she failed to show in court yet again.
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A JUDGE tasked to penalise Belle Gibson says the cancer con has shown “no positive indication of contrition or remorse” as she once again failed to show in court.
Justice Debbie Mortimer was left to speculate the reason behind Gibson’s lack of attendance.
“One of those is she’s simply so embarrassed to show her face.
“The other is she is thumbing her nose at the courts,” the Federal Court judge said in a penalty hearing on Thursday.
But Catherine Button, for the consumer watchdog, said: “If there is an innocent explanation to be given, Ms Gibson would have come along and given it.”
Justice Mortimer said it was a difficult task to set a penalty without any evidence from Gibson.
“I am not aware of a case where this level of noninvolvement has occurred,” she said.
Gibson, 25, who launched her The Whole Pantry health and wellness empire on the back of claims she had miraculously overcome brain cancer with natural remedies, has snubbed the civil proceedings brought against her by Consumer Affairs Victoria.
She has not even been represented in court by a lawyer.
Ms Button urged the judge to set a penalty that sends a strong message to the community.
But Justice Mortimer erred some caution and questioned Gibson’s capacity to pay.
“I don’t know whether she’s employed, I don’t know if she’s independently wealthy, or if she’s got generous friends — I don’t know any of that,” she said.
“If the penalties are not paid and those in the general community look at that, then I’m not sure if there is general deterrence.”
The Herald Sun understands if Gibson cannot afford any fine issued, she could transfer it to community work or claim bankruptcy.
In March, Justice Mortimer ruled Gibson had “deliberately played” the Australian public and that there was no rational reason for her to believe she had cancer.
But there was insufficient evidence to persuade the court Gibson never believed she had cancer and had invented the story from the outset, she said.
The young mother was also found to have failed to pass on donations she had collected for charities through the sale of her app.
Justice Mortimer said a suggestion by Consumer Affairs that she orders Gibson to apologise in a newspaper advertisement was “problematic”.
“I’ve got no evidentiary basis that she is apologetic,” Justice Mortimer said. “I may be ordering her to make statements she doesn’t believe.”
Justice Mortimer has reserved her decision but warned: “Whatever orders the court makes, they are not to be ignored.”
The maximum penalty an individual can face is $220,000, while a business is $1.1 million.