section_path: Legal action
section_name: Legal action
paragraph_text: Legal action
  
  On 6 May 2016, Consumer Affairs Victoria announced legal action against Gibson and Inkerman Road Nominees Pty Ltd (originally known as Belle Gibson Pty Ltd) for "false claims by Ms. Gibson and her company concerning her diagnosis with terminal brain cancer, her rejection of conventional cancer treatments in favour of natural remedies, and the donation of proceeds to various charities". The regulator said it had conducted an in-depth investigation of Gibson's activities and applied to Australia's Federal Court for leave to pursue legal action. Gibson's publisher, Penguin Australia, agreed to pay $30,000 to the Victorian Consumer Law Fund as a penalty for releasing The Whole Pantry without fact checking.
  
  On 15 March 2017, the Federal Court of Australia found that the prosecution had proven most of those claims, concluding that "Ms. Gibson had no reasonable basis to believe she had cancer". Gibson was fined $410,000 (which she has not paid as of 2025), but the judge accepted Gibson's story that she was acting out of delusion rather than criminal intent. Federal Court Justice Debra Mortimer delivered the decision that "most but not all" of the claims against Gibson were proven. Gibson did not appear in court for the decision. Justice Mortimer found that Gibson's claims had been misleading and deceptive, and that "Ms. Gibson had no reasonable basis to believe she had cancer from the time she began making these claims in public to promote The Whole Pantry Book and the apps in mid-2013", but there was not enough evidence to prove that she was not acting out of delusion.
  
  Gibson's actions were described by Mark Feldman, a clinical professor of psychiatry who coined the term " Münchausen's by internet", as "particularly predatory", as well as "deceit on a grand scale, for personal profit".
  
  In September 2017, Gibson was fined $410,000 for making false claims about her donations to charity. As the fine was unpaid, in 2019, the authorities sought power to charge her with contempt of court. A new trial was set for 14 May, and she was to face 6 years in jail if she did not attend. As of mid-September 2019, Gibson still had not paid, claiming to be broke, and Consumer Affairs Victoria were still seeking to enforce the penalty. In a 2017 letter later released by the Federal Court, Gibson had stated that she was $170,000 in debt, and had $5,000 to her name.
  
  On 22 January 2020, the Sheriff's Office of Victoria conducted a search warrant at Gibson's home in Northcote and seized items to recoup Gibson's unpaid fines, which, due to interest and costs, exceeded half a million dollars. In February 2021, the Federal Court registrar marked her case as "abandoned". Her home was subject to a second warrant on 21 May 2021 to "try to recoup her unpaid fines". As of February 2025 Gibson has not paid her outstanding fines.
  
  On 6 May 2016, Consumer Affairs Victoria announced legal action against Gibson and Inkerman Road Nominees Pty Ltd (originally known as Belle Gibson Pty Ltd) for "false claims by Ms. Gibson and her company concerning her diagnosis with terminal brain cancer, her rejection of conventional cancer treatments in favour of natural remedies, and the donation of proceeds to various charities". The regulator said it had conducted an in-depth investigation of Gibson's activities and applied to Australia's Federal Court for leave to pursue legal action. Gibson's publisher, Penguin Australia, agreed to pay $30,000 to the Victorian Consumer Law Fund as a penalty for releasing The Whole Pantry without fact checking.
  
  On 15 March 2017, the Federal Court of Australia found that the prosecution had proven most of those claims, concluding that "Ms. Gibson had no reasonable basis to believe she had cancer". Gibson was fined $410,000 (which she has not paid as of 2025), but the judge accepted Gibson's story that she was acting out of delusion rather than criminal intent. Federal Court Justice Debra Mortimer delivered the decision that "most but not all" of the claims against Gibson were proven. Gibson did not appear in court for the decision. Justice Mortimer found that Gibson's claims had been misleading and deceptive, and that "Ms. Gibson had no reasonable basis to believe she had cancer from the time she began making these claims in public to promote The Whole Pantry Book and the apps in mid-2013", but there was not enough evidence to prove that she was not acting out of delusion.
  
  Gibson's actions were described by Mark Feldman, a clinical professor of psychiatry who coined the term " Münchausen's by internet", as "particularly predatory", as well as "deceit on a grand scale, for personal profit".
  
  In September 2017, Gibson was fined $410,000 for making false claims about her donations to charity. As the fine was unpaid, in 2019, the authorities sought power to charge her with contempt of court. A new trial was set for 14 May, and she was to face 6 years in jail if she did not attend. As of mid-September 2019, Gibson still had not paid, claiming to be broke, and Consumer Affairs Victoria were still seeking to enforce the penalty. In a 2017 letter later released by the Federal Court, Gibson had stated that she was $170,000 in debt, and had $5,000 to her name.
  
  On 22 January 2020, the Sheriff's Office of Victoria conducted a search warrant at Gibson's home in Northcote and seized items to recoup Gibson's unpaid fines, which, due to interest and costs, exceeded half a million dollars. In February 2021, the Federal Court registrar marked her case as "abandoned". Her home was subject to a second warrant on 21 May 2021 to "try to recoup her unpaid fines". As of February 2025 Gibson has not paid her outstanding fines.