Man pleads guilty to defrauding remote Indigenous community
Date published
November 2023
Relevant impacts: Financial impact, government outcomes impact, reputational impact, human impact.
A man has pleaded guilty to 14 charges of defrauding the Warmun community in the Kimberley.
Craig Robert Dale was paid $2,770,275 to build staff housing for the community and reconstruct a burnt building. The work was not completed, with the offender admitting he had spent the money gambling.
The court was told Dale had first come into contact with the community in 2011 when he was a contractor for the Department of Housing. Dale completed work which included new homes, a clinic and a school prior to his crimes.
Dale is due to be sentenced in March and is expected to complete jail time.
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