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Efforts to help John Pesutto pay $2.3 million in legal costs over the Moira Deeming defamation case were hampered by a scam GoFundMe campaign.
The former leader of the Victorian Liberal Party has said that news that a fake GoFundMe campaign has been set up in his name “defies comprehension”.
Pesutto was informed of the fake campaign in the wake of a legitimate fundraising page being established on the same platform in order to raise funds to assist him in paying legal costs following a defamation case pursued by fellow party member Moira Deeming.
Pesutto made a statement on the matter on Monday, 19 May, after being informed of the second campaign in his name.
“This account is fake and has been launched without my knowledge or consent,” Pesutto said.
“I am grateful to friends and supporters who have launched a genuine GoFundMe page simply to help raise money so I can pay what I have been ordered to pay and continue serving the people of Hawthorn. Why anyone would try to sabotage these efforts defies comprehension.”
Deeming pursued the defamation case following Pesutto’s allegations that she willingly associated with Nazis after Nazis attended a rally she helped organise March 2023. Deeming was suspended from the party, and later in the year, the matter went before the Federal Court, which ruled in favour of Deeming.
The legitimate GoFundMe campaign was launched by a group called “Elizabeth Sceney and Friends of John Pesutto” late last week and is aiming to raise $500,000, with almost a quarter of that sum raised already.
“As many of you know, civil proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia against JP in 2023, recently concluded in an unfavourable judgment,” the page said.
“As a result, he now faces significant legal fees and a costs order of $2.3 million that he must, and wishes to, satisfy in order to avoid the possibility of bankruptcy.”
If forced to declare bankruptcy, Pesutto would be forced to resign from Parliament. Pesutto was the Victorian opposition leader from December 2022 to May 2025, when he was defeated in a leadership spill by shadow police minister Brad Battin, whom Pesutto had defeated two and a half years before.
Deeming has now been readmitted to the Victorian Liberal Party.
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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