David Oneeglio and his flood relief group Aussie Helping Hands
David Oneeglio and his flood relief group Aussie Helping Hands (Image: Supplied)

An Australian conspiracy movement influencer has been found guilty of illegally collecting donations and failing to account for money and property for an anti-vaccine flood relief group that was created because he claimed other charities weren’t transparent enough.

Yesterday David Oneeglio pleaded guilty to two charges under Queensland’s Collections Act 1966 for his role in Aussie Helping Hands and Aussie Helping Hearts, the two operating names for an organisation that was revealed by a Crikey investigation to have illegally raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to help Northern Rivers flood victims in early 2022.  

Oneeglio, who emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic as one of the loudest voices from the anti-vaccine, anti-lockdown freedom movement, was charged with collecting donations illegally without approval and for failing to produce requested information and records to account properly for money and equipment received. A third charge relating to unlawful misuse of the donated money was dropped.

Oneeglio was fined $750 but no conviction was recorded. 

Aussie Helping Hands was run by Oneeglio with Dotti Janssen and Hayley Birtles-Eades as a “unified initiative by awakened Aussies”, with “awakened” referring to people who had “woken up” to anti-vaccine and other conspiracy beliefs promoted by the trio.

After promoting claims that charities such as Red Cross were promoting vaccines, wasting money and weren’t transparent about their spending, Oneeglio and others promised Aussie Helping Hands would share a record of all donations and spending — a promise that the group broke.

“Proof” shared on its (now offline) website and leader’s social media accounts included an incomplete and unverified list of donations, a limited number of expenses, and a handful of photos and videos of testimonials from people who said they’d received money or equipment.

After Queensland’s charity watchdog, the Office of Fair Trading, told Crikey that it was investigating the group, Aussie Helping Hands sent an email to its mailing list saying it had ceased operations, before relaunching under the slightly different name Aussie Helping Hearts. The Office of Fair Trading froze the group’s accounts, reportedly seizing $193,000, and charged both Oneeglio and Birtles-Eades. Birtles-Eades faces the same charge of allegedly conducting an unlawful appeal and has pleaded not guilty ahead of a court appearance later this year.

In a post sent to his nearly 60,000 followers on Telegram, Oneeglio called it a “good win”. He falsely claimed that he was “cleared of any misappropriation” — a charge was dropped but it was not disproved — and he admitted he failed to get a charity licence or account for “dozens of pressure cleaners and generators” that he said he dropped off. 

“I will never regret promoting Aussie Helping Hands,” he wrote. Oneeglio did not respond to questions from Crikey.

The Office of Fair Trading announced that frozen donations would go to relevant charities for their administration. 

“We know there are often opportunistic scammers following natural disasters such as flooding, cyclones and bushfires,” Fair Trading commissioner Victoria Thomson said. “However, you need to know where your money is going before you donate. That’s why I’m encouraging everyone to go online and check if the charity is registered before you donate.”