A suspicious fire has razed the Bellarine Peninsula home of a high-profile bikie lawyer just weeks after vandals trashed his luxury property in Melbourne’s inner east.
Arson chemists have been called in to investigate the cause of the blaze at John Voitin’s expansive farm in Swan Bay, which burnt through the home shortly before 11pm on Tuesday.
Once spruiked as the potential site for wholesome farm gate tours, more than 20 firefighters battled flames which took CFA crews five hours to completely put out.
The fire, which totally destroyed the property, also sparked a manhunt with initial fears raised for the whereabouts of the lawyer and his wife, author Clare Voitin.
Mr Voitin was due to face a committal hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday on charges of false accounting, after bikie taskforce police raided his former business in March 2018 as part of a major investigation into alleged money laundering on behalf of the Comanchero motorcycle gang.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman said both home owners had since made contact with police with arson and explosives squad detectives from Melbourne now investigating the blaze.
“The cause of the fire remains under investigation, however it is currently being treated as suspicious,” they said.
“A crime scene guard has been put in place and an arson chemist will attend the fire scene in the morning to determine the cause of the blaze.”
Ms Voitin bought the 31.15ha property in Swan Bay, 30 kilometres east of Geelong, in 2002.
Locals said all that now remained were the twisted remnants of the house alongside more than 100 sheep, horses, cows, pigs and goats in paddocks nearby.
“All that is left is a pile of tin where the roof was,” one woman said.
“The house is totally gone.”
Mr Voitin also faces losing the rest of his family’s property portfolio as ex-clients pursue a $3.2 million debt in the Supreme Court that could leave him bankrupt.
Arising from a failed stake in a managed mortgage fund, the investment was allegedly organised in the South Melbourne offices of his former law firm Stanton Grant Legal. The legal firm has since been liquidated.
In May, The Age revealed that a Supreme Court writ filed by GP Building Holdings could see lawyers for GP Building Holdings seize several other properties linked to Mr Voitin in Portsea, Frankston and a rural retreat in Heathcote.
They could also pursue Mr Voitin’s family home in Deepdene, which is owned by his wife and was raided in March last year by the Echo Taskforce and the national anti-gang squad.
In June, intruders smashed up part of the five-bedroom, multi-million dollar property breaking windows and badly damaging the interior just days before the poolside Terry Street home was set to go to auction. It was subsequently withdrawn from the market.
Source: Brisbane Times
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