Former Channel 7 presenter Simone Semmens has been acquitted after a 15-year legal battle, describing the case brought against her by the Australian Taxation Office as “disgraceful”.
Semmens spent 14 months in prison after a jury convicted her in 2019 of defrauding the government.
The case centred on three Melbourne properties she bought, subdivided and developed between 2001 and 2011.
After an audit, the tax office argued she had been operating a property development “enterprise” and had deliberately failed to pay $1.74 million in GST.
Semmens appealed the conviction and last week the Victorian Supreme Court of Appeal overturned the decision, entering acquittals on all charges.
Speaking to news.com.au, she described the lengthy case as “a harrowing ordeal”.
“It felt like vindication, this whole thing has been unfair, and it’s not just impacted me but my kids as well,” she said.
“I know the kids have struggled, I know it has been really, really difficult for them.”
Semmens represented herself in the appeal with some pro-bono assistance from Victorian tax barrister Michael Bearman.
She said she spent “months and months on end” preparing the case.
“This was not something I had any training in, but I worked very, very hard,” she said.
She is now considering her next steps, including seeking compensation for the time she spent in prison.
Semmens also criticised the cost of the investigation, and how much taxpayer money had gone into her case.
“I certainly have some serious complaints about the way in which the investigation was handled by the tax office,” she said.
“It’s millions of dollars.”
In its judgment, the appeal court found three irregularities in the original trial that created what it described as a significant problem in how the jury was guided through the case.
Justices David Beach, Maree Kennedy and Terry Forrest said the prosecutor had suggested the properties were sold “GST-inclusive” and implied Semmens had simply pocketed the $1.74 million that should have gone to the ATO.
“It has given rise to a substantial miscarriage of justice,” the judgment stated.
Although the court said the evidence was “sufficient to justify” a conviction, it declined to order a new trial and instead entered acquittals on all 10 charges of dishonestly causing a loss to the Commonwealth.
“The applicant has already served her entire sentence, endured significant stress, and re-entered the community,” the judges said.
“The offences also concern events which took place many years ago, in circumstances where memories of witnesses have already been adversely affected.
“In our view, the interests of justice do not require another lengthy and complex trial to be held in the circumstances of this particular case.”
Image: Nine News
