Traditional owners giving evidence in the trial of a man accused of dishonestly appropriating and spending more than $200,000 intended for a Far North Queensland Indigenous community say they never saw any of the money.
Ankamuthi traditional owner Larry Joe Woosup has pleaded not guilty to two counts of fraud to a value of $30,000 or more each.
Crown prosecutors allege he dishonestly obtained the money intended for the Ankamuthi community.
The traditional land of the Ankamuthi people lies on north-western Cape York in Far North Queensland.
Crown prosecutor Christian Peters told Cairns District Court that about 16 years ago, Ankamuthi traditional owners, including Mr Woosup, were engaged in negotiations with mining company Gulf Alumina Limited over the ability to mine for bauxite on Ankamuthi land.
However, the negotiations had reached a stalemate by December 2009 over the company's royalties offer of 50c/tonne.
Mr Peters told the jury that the following year, Mr Woosup engaged a solicitor and had a trust deed written up, appointing himself as the trustee for the Ankamuthi people.
Mr Peters told the court that in 2013, Mr Woosup and another traditional owner, Beverly Tamwoy, recommenced negotiations with Gulf Alumina and later reached an agreement that included keeping the original royalties offer of 50c/tonne.
The parties signed agreements with Gulf Alumina to pay the Ankamuthi people $350,000 to be made in three payments.
The jury was told that in 2014, Mr Woosup set up an account with the Commonwealth Bank, named for the Ankamuthi people but with Mr Woosup as the only trustee and signatory.
Mr Peters said that between January 29 and February 10, 2014, Mr Woosup then drew upon the account's overdraft, withdrawing a total of $110,000, with $60,000 transferred into his personal account and $50,000 withdrawn as cash.
He said Mr Woosup did not keep any account records for what the money was spent on, even though it was required by the trust.
The prosecution also told the court that on February 24, 2014, Gulf Alumina sent Mr Woosup a cheque for $95,000 as part of the agreement, which he deposited into another trust account he had opened with Queensland Country Credit Union.
Mr Woosup was also the sole trustee of that account, the court heard.
Mr Peters said Mr Woosup withdrew nearly the entire contents of the account between February 27 and April 30 of that year, again without keeping records of what the money was spent on.
Crown witnesses and Ankamuthi traditional owners gave evidence today, with each saying they did not receive money from Mr Woosup in 2014 as part of the Gulf Alumina deal.
Tracy Lee Lutwych told the court that she asked Mr Woosup in 2015 about rumours he had taken money as part of a mining deal.
She said he replied: "I would not do that to my family."
Polly Josephine Woosup said that in a conversation she witnessed in 2018, her uncle Mark Gebadi told Mr Woosup that the money Mr Woosup took belonged to the Ankamuthi people.
Mr Peters asked: "Did Larry respond, 'We should leave that behind us, that's only a small amount and we've got more money coming toward us?'"
Ms Woosup responded: "Yes."
Another witness, Amanda Ewart, told the court she received a chain text message from Mr Woosup in 2018, in which he said he had taken $30,000 and given $10,000 to Beverly Tamwoy.
Under cross-examination from Mr Woosup's counsel, barrister Matt Jackson asked Ms Ewart if she agreed that, outside of the text messages, Mr Woosup never said he had used the money from Gulf Alumina on himself.
Ms Ewart said that was not true.
Kevin Wone, an accountant Mr Woosup used during the negotiations with Gulf Alumina, told the court during his evidence that he was not aware of Mr Woosup's trust accounts.
The jury was also shown a police document with Mr Woosup's responses to questions about a $10,000 cash withdrawal when he said he had given the money to Mr Wone for accountancy fees.
Mr Wone told the court that he never received the money.
The trial before Judge Joshua Treviño KC is set down for more than six days.
