http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/bell-gibson-handed-huge-fine-by-federal-co...BELLE Gibson must pay $410,000 in fines for profiting from false claims she had cancer — but she will not have to make a public apology.
More than two years after she was first exposed as a fake, the founder of The Whole Pantry health and wellness empire has finally been penalised in the Federal Court.
But the huge fine is nowhere near the maximum penalty she could have faced — $1.1 million.
READ MORE: GIBSON’S HISTORY OF LIES
GIBSON SNUBS FEDERAL COURT HEARING
Justice Debbie Mortimer also chose not to order Gibson to place an apology in the form of an A4-size ad in the Herald Sun and The Australian — a move sought by Consumer Affairs Victoria in its legal action against her.
Justice Mortimer said the money should be donated to “some or all” of the organisations and people Gibson ha
In that way, some good might come for the vulnerable people, and the organisation’s supporting them, which were indirectly drawn into this unconscionable sequence of events,” she said.
Gibson was fined for five breaches of Consumer Law: $90,000 each for claims she donated money to charities from app sales; and claims a large percentage of company earnings were also being given to charities.
For her involvement in duping the family of nine-year-old Joshua Schwarz, who lost his battle with a terminal brain tumour earlier this year, she was slapped with a $150,000 fine.
“Ms Gibson expressly compares the terrible circumstances of young Joshua to her own, asserting she had the same kind of tumour as he did; a statement which was completely false,” Justice Mortimer said.
“She did this to encourage members of the public to buy her product (The Whole Pantry app), to generate income for herself and her company.
“She consciously chose to use the terminal illness or a little boy in this way.”
A further $30,000 penalty was given for a Mother’s Day promotion Gibson falsely claimed donations would be made to The 2h Project and the Bumi Sehat Foundation.
And she was hit with a $50,000 fine for further false claims on charitable donations when launching her app.
Gibson has until 4pm on October 5 to apply to the court to go on a payment plan.
Justice Mortimer had banned Gibson from claiming she had been diagnosed with brain cancer before 24 May last year.
The young Melbourne mother is also forbidden from saying she was given just four months to live and healed herself naturally after rejecting conventional cancer treatments.
Gibson had “deliberately played on the genuine desire of members of the Australian community to help those less fortunate”, Justice Mortimer said at an earlier hearing.
she sounds like a born liar.... which means this wont stop her..
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Bell Gibson only gets a fine. (Read 753 times)
