A former charity boss stole $300,000 from his employer's coffers "simply for avarice", a court has heard. Photo / 123rf
A former charity boss stole $300,000 from his employer's coffers "simply for avarice", a court has heard. Photo / 123rf
A former charity boss stole $300,000 from his employer's coffers "simply for avarice", a court has heard.
Counsel for Michael Scott Lawson Clark on Friday tried to convince the District Court their client had fleeced the SYC homeless and youth charity to repay his debts.
They claimed Clark had loaned money to his father-in-law and never been repaid, forcing him to defraud the charity to make up his credit card payments, news.com.au reported.
Peter Longson, prosecuting, said that was nonsense, given the expensive overseas trips, jewellery and "lavish lifestyle" Clark had enjoyed.
"This was a crime committed simply for avarice … the stolen money was not used to retire one cent of debt," he said.
"It's one thing to simply keep your head above water — this man was flying first-class."
Clark, 40, pleaded guilty to 37 counts of aggravated dishonestly dealing with documents and 39 counts of dishonestly receiving property without consent.
Between December 2015 and November 2018, he stole $300,000 from SYC's coffers while serving as its executive.
SYC has an annual turnover of $68 million and Clark had been its director of corporate strategy since 2011.
Michael Clark pleaded guilty to 37 counts of aggravated dishonestly dealing with documents and 39 counts of dishonestly receiving property without consent.
He has a history in the political arena, having served as a ministerial adviser to both the John Olsen and Rob Kerin governments.
Yesterday John Lister, for Clark, insisted his client's debts had been real.
"He just did not get to the top of the debts that were accumulating … he just kept his head in the sand."
"He wants to make restitution in full."
Mr Lister urged the court to accept Clark's remorse and contrition were genuine.
"It's never pleasant to see a man with so much to offer fall so far," he said.
"This is not just avarice, this is a tragic personality defect that he has.
"He's not a terrible person, although he has committed a terrible crime."
Judge Paul Muscat said that was difficult to believe.
"He and his wife were earning a combined $700,000 income (over the three year span) and, despite that, he's still stealing from his employer," he said.
He cancelled Clark's bail and remanded him in custody for sentencing next month.
