iscoverA lawyer and pre-insolvency adviser with links to Melbourne’s criminal underworld has been sentenced to three years in prison after “deliberately exploiting the financial and legal system”.
Bikie-linked pre-insolvency adviser gets 3 years in jail for financial deception
24 September 2025
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8 minute read
Melbourne-based lawyer and pre-insolvency advisor John Voitin has been handed a three-year prison sentence after the Melbourne County Court found he used his position to deceive the justice system, his clients and their creditors.
The decision came following a joint investigation between the Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) that revealed Voitin had conducted an elaborate scam targeting business owners experiencing financial difficulty.
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“Voitin engaged in activities with the intent to defraud, submit false declarations and unlawfully dispose of assets,” AFSA chief executive and inspector-general in bankruptcy, Tim Beresford, said.
“Unfortunately, there are people who deliberately manipulate the system to their personal advantage, harming individuals who are experiencing financial difficulty.
“AFSA is committed to ensuring that individuals or businesses who exploit the credit system at the expense of Australians experiencing financial vulnerability are investigated and held accountable.”
Voitin allegedly had links to the Comanchero bikie gang, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. In 2018, his former business was raided by Victoria Police as part of a broader money laundering investigation. He was shot outside his Melbourne home in 2020, but no arrests were made.
On Monday (September 22), the Melbourne County Court found that Voitin had abused his trusted position as a lawyer to create fake debts through sham lawsuits, deceive clients’ creditors and help them avoid paying off debts, the Herald Sun reported.
Voitin’s scheme reportedly involved creating fake debts to overseas companies that he controlled, starting sham civil cases in the Supreme Court to make the debts appear legitimate and using the debts to rig creditors’ meetings. This enabled his clients to avoid bankruptcy and dodge paying their debts in full.
Voitin pleaded guilty to two counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception and one count of perverting the course of justice.
The court agreed that, given the seriousness of the offences, a custodial sentence was appropriate. As such, he was sentenced to three years in prison, with a minimum of one year to be served.
Off the back of this case, AFSA said harmful insolvency advice would remain an area of focus for the authority, being a key harm in the Australian credit system.
“This case highlights the need for people experiencing financial difficulty to ensure that any financial advice comes from a qualified and trustworthy source,” Beresford said.
In handing down Voitin’s sentence, Judge Meredith said it was important to deter others from exploiting the system.
“As a legal professional, dishonesty and fraud-based offending is a serious matter, especially as Voitin used his capacity as an officer of the court to deceive the justice system, his clients, and their creditors,” he said.
“Under such circumstances, general deterrence is an important factor to communicate to other members of the legal profession that this conduct is unacceptable and shall be punished.”
Voitin’s lawyer argued his reputation had ‘unfairly’ suffered over recent years due to the court proceedings. However, Judge Meredith said that Voitin had been the “architect of his own demise” by perpetrating the fraud.
Leading senior constable Anthony Martin, a spokesperson for the AFP, denounced the fraud and warned others against attempting similar schemes.
“This scheme was deliberately set out to exploit the financial and legal system. It disadvantages honest businesses and the broader Australian community,” Martin said.
“Anyone involving themselves in these types of practices is engaging in criminal behaviour, and you will be caught.”
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