Manny Conditsis, Senior Trial Advocate and Accredited Specialist in Criminal Law, represented our client, a lonely and cognitively impaired middle aged man charged with knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime [$64,400]. There was no dispute that our client transferred the money to a ‘woman’ with whom he was communicating online, but whom he had never met.
There was reason to believe the woman did not exist and that, our client had been scammed.
Fortunately, Mr Conditsis has extensive experience in representing persons with mental health issues and various levels of cognitive impairment, which enabled him to even suspect our client was intellectually impaired.
To anyone experienced in dealing with people with cognitive disabilities there is of course, nothing inconsistent with people so diagnosed leading what may appear to others as being relatively normal lives.
Mr Conditsis referred our client to a Professor for assessment as to cognitive impairment. The Professor diagnosed our client with a mild intellectual impairment and having the vocabulary and grammar comprehension of a 12-year-old.
Mr Conditsis prepared and submitted detailed written submissions to Senior Police Prosecutors particularising that our client did not appreciate he was being taking advantage of by “evil scammers” and that an appropriate outcome was for the charge against the man to be dismissed under the Mental [Forensic Provisions] Health Act. Police Prosecutors agreed, as did the Court.
