Decision record
MAURICE EUGENE FRICHOT
JurisdictionAustralia — Western Australia
BodyLegal Practice Board of Western Australia (LPBWA)
Professionlawyer — GPO Box L890 PERTH WA 6842
Case numberRe A Practitioner; Ex Parte the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal [2001] WASCA 204
Date18 June 2001
HearingSupreme Court of WA
OutcomeStruck Off the Roll of Practitioners
Allegation / charges
Struck Off the Roll of Practitioners
Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision
SanctionStrike Off
Dishonesty foundYes
Maurice Eugene Frichot pleaded guilty in the District Court to 92 offences of stealing $291,422.75 from the Australian Paralympic Federation Incorporated, of which he was a board member and sole trust account signatory, using the money for personal expenses and gambling. He was sentenced to 3.5 years imprisonment. The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal found him guilty and not a fit and proper person to practise. The Full Court, emphasising the protective (not punitive) nature of discipline, ordered him struck off the roll despite his previous unimpeachable record.
Duties found breached:
Aggravating factors:
- Large total amount stolen ($291,422.75) over an extended period (Dec 1997 - Mar 2000)
- Gross breach of trust by a lawyer of high standing
- Funds used for personal expenses and to subsidise gambling addiction
Mitigating factors:
- Previous unimpeachable record
- Pleaded guilty and admitted convictions
- Apologised to the Tribunal for his conduct