Fraudster Belle Gibson’s home raided and assets seized

Cancer con artist Belle Gibson had not paid a cent towards a six-figure fine for duping Aussies. She has now had a reality check.

Notorious cancer fraudster Belle Gibson has had her home raided and her assets seized as part of an attempt to recoup a six-figure fine.

The Victorian sheriff’s office executed a warrant on her Northcote home on Tuesday morning as the stand-off continued over her refusal to pay a fine of more than $500,000.

The 28-year-old has not paid a single cent towards the fine she incurred for faking terminal brain cancer to make a profit by duping Australians into believing she cured her condition with healthy eating.

The fine, handed down in September 2017, originally stood at $410,000 but that has now ballooned to more than $500,000 – including fines, interest and other penalties.

In a statement, a spokeswoman for Consumer Affairs Victoria said: “Sheriff’s Officers visited an address in Northcote today to execute a warrant of seizure and sale on items belonging to Ms Gibson.

Belle Gibson duped Aussies by claiming she beat brain cancer with healthy eating. Picture: David Crosling/AAP

“Consumer Affairs Victoria is committed to recovering the debt Ms Gibson owes the Victorian public and will continue to pursue Ms Gibson until it is repaid in full.”

The self-described wellness guru, who lied about her terminal brain cancer diagnosis to dupe Australians out of more than $578,000, was found guilty of five breaches of consumer laws.

She made the money via The Whole Pantry cookbook and app after telling consumers she had been cured of cancer by healthy eating.

More than 300,000 sufferers made purchases from her before the fake cancer story emerged in 2015.

Her business earned more than $578,000 from more than 300,000 purchases before cracks in her story started to appear.

She appeared in the Federal Court last year, where she claimed she was penniless and unable to afford paying the fine.

Belle Gibson told a court last year she cannot afford to pay her fine. Picture: Ian Currie

Despite the claim, the court heard she had been using a Sportsbet account and dealing with cryptocurrency.

The revelation that Gibson has a sports betting account came after her lawyer provided the court with two years worth of bank statements and other financial matters.

Under questioning from lawyer Elle Nikou Madalin, Gibson told the court she did not think cryptocurrency was “an asset or an investment”.

“All of my cryptocurrency trading is available through my bank statements,” Gibson said.

The court heard she had also been receiving Centrelink payments for the past two years and her friend who she lives with pays the rent at her Northcote home.

The court also heard Gibson had a $28,000 credit card debt with the ANZ Bank and earned $15,000 and $20,000 in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

Gibson now owes more than $500,000.

She told the court that a man named Clive Rothwell — who she claimed was not her partner but lived in the Northcote home with her and her son — helped pay for her day-to-day expenses.

She said he paid $600 each week towards the rent, but she contributes when she can.

It was revealed in court he also paid for a month-long trip to Africa via Singapore and Addis Ababa for Gibson and her son that included $3108 for flights and $2000 for accommodation.

When asked, Gibson said she could not say what Mr Rothwell did for a living. She also did not know his income, saying “that’s not my business”.

Justice Debra Mortimer told Gibson in September 2018 she had a “relentless obsession with herself”.

In November 2018, Justice Mortimer issued a warning to Gibson that failure to pay the penalty would make her liable for jail, property seizures or other punishment.

Earlier this year, A Current Affair revealed that Gibson treated herself to luxury trip to East Africa.

“Don’t you think it’s more important to be paying back that fine rather than going on an overseas trip?” a reporter asked Gibson upon her return to Australia. The then 27-year-old smirked and walked towards her car.

— with Rohan Smith