Disgraced Indigenous leader Geoff Clark found guilty of stealing close to $1m from Aboriginal organisations

Disgraced Indigenous leader Geoff Clark has been found guilty of stealing close to $1m from Aboriginal organisations he once led, the verdict coming after months of secret trials.

Disgraced ex-politician and prominent Indigenous leader Geoffrey Clark has been found guilty of dozens of theft and deception charges totalling almost $1m following months of secret court trials.

The 71-year-old, who was once Australia’s most senior Aboriginal leader, has been convicted of stealing cash from the Aboriginal organisations he led, illegally accepting royalties from eel fishermen and lying to the courts.

His convictions can finally be revealed after a gag order was lifted on Wednesday when his final case over allegations of stealing cash for “Geoff’s deck” — a sprawling merbau timber setup featuring a bar, kitchen and pizza oven — was dropped.

Clark leaving the County Court on Wednesday. Picture: Supplied

The former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) chair has faced three back-to-back County Court trials since October last year where he was convicted by juries of stealing from Indigenous organisations Kirrae Whurrong Community Inc, Maar Land Council and Framlingham Aboriginal Trust over 15 years.

His thefts of more than $920k, beginning from the early 2000s, came at a time the controversial leader faced mounting legal fees in civil court over rape allegations, and criminal court over a pub brawl at Warrnambool’s Criterion Hotel, for which he was convicted of obstructing police.

A civil jury’s finding that he led two pack rapes against a teenage girl in the 1970s was upheld on appeal in 2007.

In addition to cash thefts, Clark was also found guilty of using Framlingham Aboriginal Trust funds to pay for expenses on his properties, lying on affidavits filed with courts and unlawfully taking money from eel fishermen.

Outside the County Court on Wednesday, Clark was asked by the Herald Sun whether he was sorry for what he’d done.

He refused to answer and walked from court, where he has been ordered to return next week for a pre-sentence hearing.

Clark is the former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission chair. Picture: Supplied

Clark originally faced more than 300 charges over allegations of misappropriating $2m.

But three juries returned verdicts between December 2023 and May this year, finding him guilty of two dozen theft, financial advantage by deception and perjury charges.

Clark’s son Jeremy was also convicted at trial of stealing more than $250k for his father’s legal fees in the early 2000s.

Charges against Clark’s wife Trudy were discontinued.

Clark was due to face a fourth trial, believed to be over allegations of stealing cash from the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs for ‘Geoff’s deck’ at his Framlingham home, outside Warrnambool.

But the Office of Public Prosecutions withdrew those charges on Wednesday, bringing an end to his court cases and leading Judge Michael O’Connell to lift a gag order banning any reporting on the matter.

His Honour said the gag order “should now be revoked and these proceedings will no longer be suppressed because it is no longer necessary to prevent the risk of prejudice of any future jury trials, so I formally revoke that order.”

That final conclusion came after a decade-long Victoria Police probe into Clark and his family, and more than 10 months of secret trials that began in October 2023.

In a statement, Jeremy Clark said he “made an error of judgment and unreservedly apologise”.

Jeremy said he accepted responsibility for a single charge from more than 15 years ago for which “I did not personally benefit”.

“I have never conspired to commit any crimes for my father’s or anyone’s benefit,” he said.

Jeremy Clark was found guilty at trial of seven charges, including for thefts from the Maar Land Council and Kirrae Whurrong Community Inc, and false accounting between 2003 to 2005.

“My first priority has always been improving the lives and futures of my community, as well as of Indigenous Australians more broadly, and I condemn any actions taken by others that have compromised this,” Jeremy said.

“With respect to any allegation of wrongdoing at the Framlingham Aboriginal Trust, I maintain my innocence and unequivocally deny those allegations. It is noteworthy that it has never been alleged that I personally benefited from any of these historical matters.”

Both Geoff and Jeremy Clark have been ordered to return to the County Court for a two-day pre-sentencing hearing on September 11.