Belle Gibson claims housemate Clive Rothwell is a ‘friend’ who gives her gifts, cash
The man she lives with bankrolls her life — including a recent African holiday — but the fraudster says she knows nothing about him.
What goes on behind closed doors at Belle Gibson’s Northcote rental is anybody’s guess. The cancer con woman is certainly not saying.
What we do know is that the 27-year-old who lied about having terminal brain cancer to make a profit through her book and mobile app The Whole Pantry spends most of her time there.
She does not work and she receives a government payment.
The small, white weatherboard home in Melbourne’s inner north is occupied by her son, who is eight, and a man she has been linked to since her lies started to unravel in 2015.
His name is Clive Rothwell and, for the past four years at least, he has been bankrolling Gibson in whatever way she needs him to.
He pays $600 each week towards the rent, but she contributes when she can, she says.
He pays her legal fees, including $5500 for lawyers who represented her in court yesterday, but part of that lump sum was “a gift”, she says.
When Belle Gibson flew overseas, via Singapore, she listed her son as the lead passenger and herself as his “companionâ€. The invoice was made out to her son, who is 8. @newscomauHQ
— Rohan Smith (@Ro_Smith) May 14, 2019
He recently 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.
In a letter Gibson wrote to the Department of Justice, The Whole Pantry founder revealed she owed Mr Rothwell $90,000.
But when asked in court yesterday what the money was for, she said she did not know. The bill remains outstanding.
Perhaps most perplexing about Gibson’s relationship with Mr Rothwell is her claim that the pair are not only “just friends”, but that she does not even know what he does for a living.
“Do you know what Clive does?” lawyer Elle Nikou Madalin asked during more than two hours of constant grilling about Gibson’s finances in Melbourne’s Federal Court yesterday.
Gibson responded: “No. That’s not my business.”
Belle Gibson says the man she lives with, who pays half her rent, is not her partner. He’s a “friendâ€. But Gibson claims she does not even know what he does for work. @newscomauHQ
— Rohan Smith (@Ro_Smith) May 14, 2019
Asked if the pair were romantically involved, Gibson said no. Asked if the pair were engaged, Gibson said no.
The money Gibson spends is important because she has yet to pay a single cent towards a $410,000 fine she received for five breaches of consumer laws.
Gibson was ordered to pay the money after Consumer Affairs Victoria began investigating her wholefoods business — which included a cookbook and app — as well as her claims that her terminal brain cancer was cured by healthy eating.
The fake wellness guru’s business earned more than $578,000 from more than 300,000 purchases before cracks in her story started to appear.
Gibson’s lawyer, Andrew Tragardh, yesterday handed over two years worth of Gibson’s bank statements that revealed she has been using a Sportsbet gambling account and dealing in cryptocurrency.
Ms Nikou Madalin, representing Consumer Affairs, clashed with Gibson while trying to get to the bottom of her finances.
At one point, Gibson claimed the prosecutor was not letting her speak.
“Can I please finish?” she asked.
Ms Nikou Madalin told her she could not.
“No. I’m the examiner. You may not. I’m not going to argue with you.”
Later, Gibson’s lawyer said the line of questioning was “absurd” and “totally unacceptable” but Ms Nikou Madalin said she was within her right to push the witness as long as she did not “badger” her.
The grilling revealed a number of inconsistencies in Gibson’s story. Ms Nikou Madalin focused in on the trip to Africa.
She told Gibson there were documents still outstanding, including her travel itinerary. When asked if she had “got rid of” emails containing her travel itinerary, Gibson responded: “They were thrown out.”
Another issue raised about the trip was Gibson’s decision to name her son as the main traveller on invoices for flights.
“(Your son) is listed as the lead passenger and you are the companion,” Ms Nikou Madalin said.
“Correct,” Gibson replied.
Gibson was swamped by reporters and photographers as she walked into the Federal Court building. It was her first appearance in court after being issued with the fine in 2017.
She wore a black trench coat and a black dress with glasses. During a break outside court, Gibson was overheard by reporters saying it’s “sad” that media are covering her case and that other “more important” cases should be covered instead.
Justice Debra Mortimer told Gibson in September she had a “relentless obsession with herself”.
In November, Justice Mortimer issued a warning to Gibson that failure to pay the penalty would make her liable for jail, property seizures or other punishment.
Gibson will return to court on June 6 after Consumer Affairs has forensically examined her accounts.
Continue the conversation on Twitter: @ro_smith or email rohan.smith1@news.com.au