1000 charges for Aboriginal leader Geoff Clark

Aboriginal leader Geoff Clark and his family have been hit with hundreds of fraud, theft and deception charges.

Geoff Clark was once one of Australia’s most senior indigenous leaders.

Aboriginal leader Geoff Clark has been hit with hundreds of fraud, theft and deception charges in a major escalation of a five-year police probe into his affairs.

Mr Clark, who was once one of Australia’s most senior indigenous leaders, was charged with 514 new offences by fraud squad detectives this week.

Police have been examining alleged financial impropriety in a range of indigenous organisations in southwest Victoria, including the troubled Framlingham Aboriginal Trust which was put into administration late last year.

Mr Clark, his wife Trudy and their sons Jeremy and Aaron faced court in October after they were charged with a combined 82 fraud-related offences.

But the criminal case against the family has been drastically expanded this week, with detectives also laying another 456 charges against Mrs Clark.

Jeremy Clark, 45, was hit with another 90 offences while Aaron Clark, 37, received an extra 28 charges.

Victoria Police spokeswoman Natalie Webster confirmed the new charges were laid this week “as part of an investigation into alleged historical criminal matters”.

“A 66-year-old Warrnambool man, 63-year-old Warrnambool woman, 45-year-old Abbotsford man and a 37-year-old Bellfield man have all been charged with a range of fraud, theft and deception-related charges,” Ms Webster said.

Court listings show the family are due to appear again in Warrnambool Magistrates’ Court for a committal mention on April 5.

HERALD SUN