Fundraising anti-vax lawyer asks clients, supporters to stop asking for refunds

“Some of the clients of Advocate Me have asked for refunds from me directly and I have told them that I have no power to issue them refunds. I have told them that I don’t control the accounts anymore. If they are upset and angry about that, they need to pursue the matter personally,” she said.

She also said that some clients had sought legal advice to seek their refund.

Ms Teffaha, who is involved with lobby group People for Safe Vaccines, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for a national class action which at times has purported to represent people affected by any form of detention, mandatory vaccination, business closures, residential aged care isolation, cross-border rules, contact tracing, compulsory testing and masks.

A handful of lawyers have put themselves forward as advocates for the anti-vaccination movement. Between them, they have collected more than $1 million in legal funds for challenges that have changed neither the approach nor the laws of state or federal jurisdictions.

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The message comes as a NSW judge warned lawyers acting on behalf of a different anti-vaccination activist last week that they may be obligated to return some of the fees they collected after an “exorbitant” amount of money was used in a failed Supreme Court challenge to a vaccine mandate.

NSW paramedic John Edward Larter collected hundreds of thousands of dollars from donors online to challenge the vaccination mandate and now faces being liable for paying the legal costs of the NSW state government after losing the case.

Hall & Wilcox declined to comment.

The Victorian Legal Services Board said when a manager was appointed to a law practice, as is the case with Ms Teffaha’s firm, they could not release any funds without the proper records, evidence of entitlement and authority.

“The funds are therefore not being held unlawfully,” a spokesman said.

“Hall & Wilcox [the manager of Ms Teffaha’s practice] are currently working with a forensic accountant, engaged by the board, to reconcile the trust account.

“They have established a process whereby clients will be able to seek refunds of their money if they provide evidence in support of their claims.”

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