Juries find Indigenous leader Geoff Clark guilty of stealing nearly $1m

Geoff Clark, who was who was once one of Australia’s most senior Indigenous leaders, has been found guilty of stealing from the Aboriginal organisations he once led.

Geoff Clark has been found guilty of almost $1m worth of theft and deception charges.

Geoff Clark, once one of Australia’s most senior Indigenous leaders, has been found guilty of almost $1m worth of theft and deception charges, including stealing from the Aboriginal organisations he once led.

The Herald Sun reports Clark, former chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, was convicted by three juries in three secret County Court trials of stealing from Indigenous organisations Kirrae Whurrong Community Inc, Maar Land Council and Framlingham Aboriginal Trust over 15 years.

The juries also found Clark guilty of lying on affidavits and unlawfully accepting money from eel fishermen.

A suppression order prohibiting publication of the trials was lifted on Wednesday after the final case against Clark was withdrawn by the Office of Public ­Prosecutions.

The Herald Sun reported County Court judge Michael O’Connell said “these proceedings will no longer be suppressed because it is no longer necessary to prevent the risk of prejudice of any future jury trials”.

The verdicts followed a lengthy police investigation into Clark and his family’s affairs.

Both Clark and his son Jeremy Clark were ordered to return to court for a pre-sentencing hearing on September 11; charges against Geoff’ Clark’s wife, Trudy, were dis­continued.