Geraldton identity Thomas Grahame Greenaway sentenced to more than six years jail over native title fraud

A former deputy mayor of Geraldton who “abused a position of trust” and stole nearly $3 million from an Aboriginal native title fund has been sent to jail after he was sentenced in the District Court on Thursday. Thomas Grahame Greenaway said a tearful goodbye to family after Judge David McLean’s sentence of six years and four months prison for 33 counts of stealing and one count of fraud. A two-week trial in August found Greenaway guilty of using the Yugunga-Nya People’s Trust as his “own personal ATM machine” between June 2013 and March 2017 to prop up failing pub the Freemasons Hotel. Forensic accounting revealed Greenaway made multiple transfers of between $10,000 and $1.4m from the trust to a company called FAWRKT Pty Ltd, which was used to funnel money into the hotel. The transfers were accompanied by a “sham” loan agreement by Greenaway as both the trustee and borrower. Greenaway’s defence argued the financial planner invested in the business to provide employment opportunities for beneficiaries of the trust, but a jury rejected that evidence. Judge McLean said Greenaway made no attempt to find out if any beneficiaries would be interested in working at the pub. “Your offending was not an isolated lapse of judgment,” he said. “It was not impulsive. It was deliberate, methodical, planned, systemic and prolonged. “Your offending was motivated to protect your investment in the Freemasons Hotel and was used for your personal benefit.” During the trial Greenaway argued he had to keep the investments secret so that members of the trust wouldn’t expect freebies, and had to be confidential from the owners of the hotel because Geraldton was a racist town. “This cynical and opportunistic characterisation was rejected by the jury and I reject it,” Judge McLean said. The court was told Greenaway invested $295,000 of his own money in the Freemasons Hotel and had a “sentimental attachment to the business.” In March 2017 Greenaway funnelled more than $1.4 million into the pub in “a desperate attempt to legitimise and to prop-up a bad investment”. Once a well-respected community leader, Greenaway has lived in Geraldton since he was five. He served on the Geraldton council for 18 years — including as deputy mayor — and founded basketball team Batavia Buccaneers. Judge McLean originally sentenced Greenaway to eight years jail but reduced the term taking into account the 70-year-old’s age. “You have obviously experienced shame and a fall from grace in your community, and that fall has been public and prominent,” Judge McLean said. Greenaway was ordered to pay $2.1 million to the Yugunga’s Peoples’ Trust as compensation. He will be eligible for parole after four years and four months. The Freemasons Hotel is currently not owned or run by anyone involved in the case.