House forfeit over illegal steroids sales

The High Court has ruled that Phillip James Musson’s wife and mother-in-law benefited from his dealings in illegal steroids and the trio will forfeit the Bishopdale house they owned.

The ruling by Justice Gerald Nation follows months of hearings and submissions in which the Commissioner of Police applied for profit forfeiture orders against Musson, his wife Lesley Anne Musson, and his mother-in-law Anne Maria Hammill, aged 74.
Musson has served a jail sentence for dealing in illegal steroids and performance enhancing drugs. He was jailed for four years, five months, and three weeks after pleading guilty to 187 Medicines Act charges.

The scale of his operation has emerged in Justice Nation’s findings on the forfeiture application. The commissioner assessed the value of Musson’s criminal activity as $795,958.

Justice Nation has now ruled that the property at 40 Breens Road, where the couple lived, and the widowed Mrs Hammill lived in a two-bedroom extension she paid to build, must be sold.

According to the complicated ruling, the maximum amount that could be recovered from Phillip and Lesley Musson would be $498,834. This is the assessed value of Musson’s criminal activity minus money recovered from another respondent – who has name suppression – as well as $5000 cash found at the house, a mortgage on the property, and the amount forfeited by Mrs Hammill.

He has assessed the amount recoverable from Mrs Hammill as $99,907.

Justice Nation noted that when the women asked about what Musson was doing, he would reply that if he told them, he would have to kill them. It was regarded as a joke, but they made no further inquiries about the legality of the operation which involved materials and cash coming and going, often under false names.

Prescription medicines with a street value of $1,256,300 were imported by Musson or were in his possession. The Crown did not go ahead with a separate prosecution relating to party pills. Justice Nation said Musson had been involved in “significant criminal activity”.

The three opposed the profit forfeiture order being sought against them, arguing that Mrs Musson and Mrs Hammill had not unlawfully benefited from the criminal activity, and that forfeiture would involve undue hardship for all three and for the Mussons’ daughter.

Justice Nation said: “Mrs Musson and Mrs Hammill will have knowingly benefited from Mr Musson’s criminal activity if their suspicions were aroused that he may have been engaged in such criminal activity but [they] deliberately refrained from making inquiry in order to avoid learning whether the suspicion was justified.”

A search warrant at the home in May 2012 uncovered 11 false driver licences – five showing Musson, and six with photos of Mrs Musson – and in that search and another in February 2013, 18 cell phones were found. Couriers often had to call at the house in circumstances which it is likely all occupants would have been aware of. Those calls were in relation to Musson’s offending.

Musson said he kept both women “in the dark” about his offending.

Mrs Hammill’s bank account was used to receive some payments.

Mrs Musson had income of only $3,118.33 from Work and Income benefits over the period 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2013. Located in the spare bedroom of her home, when the search warrant was executed on 23 May 2012, were numerous cash receipts for purchases totalling $87,781.

Of the $58,219.23 spent on apparel and accessories, $55,605.13 was spent on female clothing. This included purchases for high-end designer wear and accessories including Trelise Cooper clothing and jewellery ($10,190.71) and at least $6,378.40 on lingerie and $4,086.90 on footwear. The majority of clothes purchased were located in the master bedroom and the spare room next to the master bedroom. The spare room was packed with clothing, shoes and haberdashery and was difficult to walk around.

Leisure spending included $1440 spent on 19 August 2011 at Select Braemar Lodge and Spa, a high-end luxurious retreat on the outskirts of Hanmer.

Mrs Musson had asked questions, but chose not to seek answers. She had “knowingly benefited” from the criminal activity, Justice Nation said.

Mrs Hammill was paid to put substances into vials, on Musson’s instructions. On execution of the search warrant at 40 Breens Road in May 2012, located in Mrs Hammill’s rooms were prescription medicines, anabolic steroids and human growth hormones.

Justice Nation ruled that although Mrs Hammill was not aware of the full extent of Musson’s offending, this was because she was “wilfully blind” to what was happening.

He rejected the argument that forfeiture of the property would cause undue hardship.

 

Tags: forfeiture, illegal steroids, Medicines Act, steroids

Category: Focus