A Queensland man who auctioned a tooth he had pulled, supposedly to raise money for a children's hospital, has been ordered to hand the funds over after a court found no evidence the proceeds went to the hospital.
Peter Michael Finn, who describes himself as a "Fat Aussie Barstard (sic)" on his YouTube channel, launched the online auction in June last year and raised $A6543 ($NZ8484), which he claimed was for the Brisbane Royal Children's Hospital.
Finn faced Noosa Magistrates Court yesterday where the court heard he did not apply to the Office of Fair Trading to request permission to make a public appeal and none of the funds reached the hospital, the Brisbane Times reports.
Finn told the court he estimated that the cost of running the auction was about $A5000 ($NZ6484), including "100 hours of my time, answering comments, editing videos, shooting videos, liaising with the bidders”.
After the expenses, Finn said he was left with about $A1500 ($NZ1945) and handed out the money to homeless people in the Fortitude Valley.
He said he didn't film or make a note of the donations to respect the privacy of those he helped.
He pleaded guilty to unlawfully appealing for support and converting the money for own use/failing to properly account for it.
He was ordered to undertake 200 hours of community service, pay the $8484 he raised to Brisbane Children's Hospital and received a six-month suspended prison sentence.
Finn has urged potential fund raisers to stick to the letter of the law.
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