The former CEO of a Sydney domestic violence charity has reached a confidential settlement after she agreed to pay back $150,000 in lieu of funds she had been accused of appropriating.<\/p>\n
Gabrielle Morrissey was CEO of Sydney charity Women and Children First, which supports women experiencing domestic violence, from November 2022 to June 2024.<\/p>\n
The ABC has seen a document in which Women and Children First accuse Dr Morrissey of defrauding the charity, and alleging the money was paid out for what appeared to be her personal benefit.<\/p>\n
The charity’s board chair Julie Ryan said in a statement that Dr Morrissey resigned from her position on June 15 last year.<\/p>\n
“In June 2024, Women and Children First made a complaint to NSW Police in relation to Dr Morrissey. NSW Police commenced an investigation into the complaint,” she said.<\/p>\n
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Dr Morrissey is now the CEO of Women’s Resilience Centre, which operates a charity shop called The Resilience Circle. (ABC News: Patrick Thomas)<\/p>\n
“Without any admission of liability, Women and Children First and Dr Morrissey have reached a confidential settlement in relation to the matters subject of the complaint.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Women and Children First and Dr Morrissey now regard the matter as resolved from a civil perspective.”<\/p>\n
The confidential settlement include Dr Morrissey agreeing to pay $150,000 to Women and Children First, in return for being released from civil liability by the charity in relation to the complaint it made to police.<\/p>\n
The settlement terms also included the charity agreeing to send a letter to NSW Police saying that it was content for the fraud investigation to be terminated.<\/p>\n
Dr Morrissey told the ABC she had no comment to make on the confidential settlement.<\/p>\n
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