Regina v Geoffrey Francis Smith

District Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:	Regina v Geoffrey Francis Smith [2014] NSWDC 140
Hearing dates:	19 June, 21 August 2014
Decision date:	25 August 2014
Before:	Judge MJ Finnane QC
Decision:	See paragraph [68]
Catchwords:	CRIME - plea of guilty - sentence - fraud - offence - corporation - fraud whilst officer of body corporate - revenue - misuse of credit card FRAUD - elements of offence - intent to commit fraud - repayment of monies used for private expenses - further commission of fraud OTHER - imprisonment - effect of imprisonment on third parties - mitigating factors - health of family member - public opinion and humiliation - humiliation within community - agreed facts - plea bargain
Cases Cited:	Regina v Cynthia Edwards NSWCCA (1996) 90 A Crim 510 R v Uzabeaga [2000] NSWCCA 381 Marcus Richard Einfeld v Regina [2010] NSWCCA 87 Kenny v R [2010] NSWCCA 6 Regina v Raymond Reginald Williams [2005] NSWSC 315 Regina v Rodney Stephen Adler [2005] NSWSC 274 Thomson v R [2014] NSWCCA 88
Category:	Principal judgment
Parties:	Regina (Crown) Geoffrey Francis Smith (Offender)
Representation:	Ms S Bowers (Crown) Mr P Strickland SC (Offender) S Kavanagh, Solicitor for Public Prosecutions (Crown) DLA Piper (Offender)
File Number(s):	2011/370149

Judgment

1. Geoffrey Francis Smith is charged with one offence of cheating and defrauding Sydney Ferries Corporation, to wit whilst being an officer of a body corporate. He pleaded guilty to this offence. The indictment charges an offence commencing in 2006 and concluding in 2009. I have been asked to take into account an offence contained in a Form 1 Schedule of knowingly making a false statement to a shareholder. The statement was a false statement in writing made to the Minister of Transport that a credit card issued to him by Sydney Ferries Corporation, was being used in conformity with promulgated policy.¹

1. The evidence put before me shows that from the time he became Chief Executive Officer of Sydney Ferries, he used a Government issued credit card to pay large sums to himself for private purposes.

1. He commenced to make use of this credit card from 12 September 2006² although he had signed a document in August of that year agreeing that he would not use the credit card for payment of private expenses. He continued to use this card until he was stopped from doing so.

1. However, as part of a negotiated plea bargain, the Crown agreed with his lawyers that the charge should relate only to use of the credit card from May 2008, because in June 2008, he repaid all but $23.22³ of the amount he had taken by that time, that is the amounts owing up to April 2008. In total a sum of $ 128, 753.08⁴.

1. The Crown Prosecutor told me in submissions that the Crown accepted that it could not prove beyond reasonable doubt that the amounts he took before May 2008 were taken fraudulently, because he had indicated to his…