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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Forgery |
Sentence: |
3 years with 10 months and 26 months suspended pending probation |
Years Imprisoned: |
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Year Crime: |
2007 |
Year Convicted: |
2016 |
Year Cleared: |
2017 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Australia |
County or Region of Crime: |
Western Australia |
City of Crime: |
Perth |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Mohamed Aman Siddique and Peter Stanley Gant were codefendants wrongly convicted in May 2016 of fraud in Perth, Western Australia, Australia. The prosecution of Gant and Siddique was based on allegations that in 2007 Siddique painted two paintings that Gant sold as original works by renowned Australian artist Brett Whiteley. Whiteley was 53 when he died in 1992. The Blue Lavender Bay painting was sold for $2.5 million to Sydney Swans chairman Andrew Pridham in 2007 and Orange Lavender Bay sold for $1.1 million to Sydney luxury car dealer Steven Nasteski in 2009. Gant amd Siddique's defense was the paintings were authentic paintings Whiteley created in 1988, and two experts testified as defense witnesses that they were authentic originals. The prosecution's evidence was so weak that the trial judge, Justice Michael Croucher, instructed the jury that the defense witnesses severely undermined the prosecution's case. However, the jury convicted Gant and Siddique. In November 2016 Mohamed Siddique was sentenced to 3 years in prison, with 10 months to be served and 26 months suspended pending three years of successful probation, and Peter Gant sentenced to five years in prison with a minimum term of 2 years 6 months before he was eligible for parole. Gant and Siddique were released on bail pending the outcome of their appeal. On April 27, 2017 the Western Australia Court of Appeals quashed the convictions of Gant and Siddique and ordered their acquittal after the Crown Prosecution Service conceeded that Gant and Siddique could be innocent." |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
"On April 27, 2017 the Western Australia Court of Appeals quashed the convictions of Gant and Siddique after the Crown Prosecution Service conceeded that Gant and Siddique could be innocent." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
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Age When Released: |
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Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
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Information Source 1: |
"Art fraud scandal: Men accused of selling fake Brett Whiteley paintings have convictions quashed, By Rebekah Cavanagh, Herald Sun, April 27, 2017" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/art-fraud-scandal-men-accused-of-selling-fake-brett-whiteley-paintings-have-convictions-quashed/news-story/ab556dd61936c8a4b289b38a5e2bcd04 |
Information Source 2: |
"Brett Whiteley art fraud conviction quashed against two Victorian men, By Australian Associated Press, The Guardian (London), April 27, 2017" |
Information Location 2: |
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/apr/27/brett-whiteley-art-conviction-quashed-against-two-victorian-men |
Information Source 3: |
"Fake Brett Whiteley paintings: two men sentenced to jail for 'audacious' fraud, By Australian Associated Press, The Guardian (London), November 4, 2016" |
Information Location 3: |
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/nov/04/fake-brett-whiteley-paintings-two-men-sentenced-to-jail-for-audacious |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org