Former Australian MP found guilty of fraud, theft charges

Former Australian Member of Parliament Craig Thomson on Tuesday was found guilty of deception and theft charges and now faces a maximum of five years in jail. Thomson, 49, has been found guilty of dozens of dishonesty offences over the use of his Health Services Union (HSU) credit cards to make cash withdrawals, pay for prostitutes and cigarettes and cover some of his former wife's travel expenses. Magistrate Charlie Rozencwajg said it was an "affront to common sense" that payments to escorts could ever be considered legitimate expenses. He said Thomson must have known that using the cards for personal expenses was not allowed under the union's rules. Thomson, who has strenuously denied any wrongdoing, made no comment to reporters after hearing the verdict in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday. Thomson was found guilty of six charges of obtaining financial advantage by deception over payments to escorts, totaling more than 5,500 AU dollars (4,950 U.S. dollars). Rozencwajg also found Thomson guilty of 16 charges of theft over the withdrawal of 6,250 dollars (5,625 U.S. dollars) in cash. Thomson was also found guilty of obtaining financial advantage by deception over the use of the cards to pay for cigarettes and expenses incurred after he resigned from the union to become an MP. Thomson is still facing civil proceedings in the Federal Court brought by the General Manager of Fair Work Australia. HSU acting national secretary Chris Brown said the union would look at options to recover the money defrauded by Thomson. Federal Employment Minister Eric Abetz said Thomson misled parliament over the allegations and he and the Labor Party owe an apology to thousands of honest union members, as well as to parliament. Thomson lost his New South Wales Central Coast seat of Dobell at last September's federal election, standing as an independent but receiving less than four percent of the primary vote. He will return to court on March 18 for a plea hearing.