A Melbourne lawyer was yesterday sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of one year, for perverting the course of justice and running an offshore scam to help his clients avoid bankruptcy.
Former underworld lawyer, John Voiton, 68, used his law firm to create fictitious personal debts for two clients so they could gain a favourable outcome from bankruptcy and insolvency processes.
Voiton appeared yesterday in a prison-issue tracksuit and Judge Gavan Meredith remanded him into custody.
“As a member of the legal profession, any activity to pervert the course of justice must be treated seriously,” Judge Meredith said.
Two clients were also involved in the scheme, while the man received a financial benefit for his business through the process.
To ensure his clients avoided bankruptcy and repaid cents on the dollar to creditors, Voiton then initiated insolvency proceedings based on false and backdated documentation.
The fraudulent documents raised a false debt owed to a company based in Hong Kong, which the man controlled through a straw director. Insolvency proceedings were then initiated in the Victorian Supreme Court based on the fraudulent documents.
When Voiton’s clients proposed a personal insolvency agreement (PIA) to creditors, the Hong Kong company had precedence as the largest creditor, and Voiton could ensure the agreement was approved.
Once the PIA was approved, the clients avoided bankruptcy and negotiated payments to creditors that represented only small percentages of their ‘debts’. The ‘debts’ paid to the Hong Kong company flowed back to the legal firm and the clients.
The man pleaded guilty on November 7, 2024, to the following charges:
- One count of attempting to pervert the course of justice, contrary to section 320 of the Crimes Act (Vic). The maximum penalty for this offence is 25 years’ imprisonment; and
- Two counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception, contrary to section 82 of the Crimes Act (Vic). The maximum penalty for this offence is 10 years’ imprisonment.
The two clients were charged with offences against the Bankruptcy Act in 2016. One client was fined and convicted, and the other client’s offence was proven without conviction.
Voiton will be released from prison in September 2026.
