NEWCASTLE fraudster Lemuel Page has assembled a high-powered legal team to review his chances of winning an all-grounds appeal against a fraud conviction for selling a fake diamond ring.
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Sydney District Court heard on Wednesday that top silk Bret Walker, SC, who reportedly charges $14,000 a day, has been employed to review the merits of Page's appeal against a jail sentence imposed in July.
Mr Walker, one of Australia's leading barristers, represented former prime minister Kevin Rudd at the royal commission into the botched federal government insulation scheme.
Judge Paul Conlon adjourned the case to November 6 when the court is expected to hear more details about the "review" being conducted by Mr Walker.
Page, a notorious conman, is out on bail after appealing the conviction and severity of his minimum eight-months sentence for selling a close friend a fake diamond ring.
Page, 48, told the victim, a Sydney orthodontist, that he could source him a diamond engagement ring worth $200,000-$250,000 for a wholesale price of $85,000.
Page eventually delivered the ring to his friend's fiancee in 2011. However, the soon-to-wed couple discovered Page had a cubic zirconia fitted into an engagement ring rather than the real deal.
The fake ring was worth about $1500 and was made in the Hunter.
Page's fraud conviction turned his private dealings into a very public scandal, with many victims coming forward detailing decades of deception where they lost entire nest eggs.
The orthodontist and his wife, who scrubbed Page off the wedding list, were in court on Wednesday where Page's lawyer Mahmoud Abbas made an application for Page to be granted permission to travel to central Queensland for a three-day business trip.
Initially unable to provide written proof of the trip, the case was adjourned for a short period and Mr Abbas returned with an itinerary.
The court heard that Page was working for Tallywalker, a company headed by Maria Comino, of East Killara.
A company owned by Page's long-term partner Newcastle podiatrist Renay Bull, Pegasus Corporation, is a shareholder in Tallywalker.
Mr Abbas said his client ran a construction company and needed to ensure the business continued to operate.
"He's going to Queensland, not international," he argued.
The prosecution opposed the application saying daily reporting conditions to Newcastle police station were imposed by the local court due to "flight risk".
In a strange twist of events, high-profile Sydney cosmetic dentist Angelo Lazaris, who two years ago claimed Page owed him $5.8 million, was named as the person who provided $20,000 surety so Page could be released on bail in July.
Fairfax Media has previously reported that Dr Lazaris was listed as an unsecured creditor in Page's bankruptcy proceedings claiming he was owed millions.
The pair have been involved in numerous property developments.
Mr Abbas told the court he had spoken with Dr Lazaris on Wednesday and he had no problem with Page making the interstate trip.
Judge Conlon agreed to alter Page's bail to allow him to travel to Blackwater, a mining town, for business meetings from October 17 to 19.
"If he doesn't come back and he takes flight, the surety will lose $20,000," Judge Conlon said.
He also agreed to alter Page's strict bail reporting conditions from daily, to three times a week once he returns from the trip.