NSW Police have arrested seven people, including 55-year-old Fotis Antonios, in connection with an alleged billion-dollar scam where a crime syndicate coached individuals to file fraudulent sex abuse claims against the NSW government.
Antonios, from Girraween in Sydney’s west, is accused of being the leader of the syndicate that exploited former young offenders, inmates, and school students to submit fake claims.
Detective Superintendent Gordon Arbinja stated, “He’s made hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not a million dollars; he is the [alleged] syndicate head.”
Antonios and others allegedly coached complainants to pursue claims under the National Redress Scheme, the Sexual Assault Reporting Option, and civil litigation. Each fraudulent claim brought in at least $2,200, with Antonios reportedly having 100 claims pending.
The investigation has identified nearly 4,000 claims, many of which are “strikingly similar,” and several law firms are under investigation for their roles in the scam. Police suspect a significant portion of the $1.3 billion in claims were fraudulent.
Antonios faces 21 charges, including fraud and inciting others to commit fraud, and will appear in Parramatta Local Court.
Other arrests include a 53-year-old woman from Granville and individuals from Pendle Hill, Gladesville, and Horsley, all of whom are expected to face court next month.
Oakleigh Grammar Alumnus Arthur Demetriou, who graduated the school in 2023, recently celebrated the astonishing feat of becoming the first person with cerebral palsy to be accepted into Medicine at the University of Newcastle in New South Wales.
Arthur began his journey with Oakleigh Grammar in 2015, joining the School in Grade 4 after previously being in the public school system. Longing for a school environment where he could experience Greek culture alongside his education, Arthur seamlessly became part of the community and immediately felt comfortable at Oakleigh Grammar.
Given the obstacles Arthur faced with his condition, Arthur’s parents, Jim and Irene, were instrumental in building his belief that he was capable of anything. The remarkable level of care and love that Arthur received as a patient in hospital growing up instilled in him a desire to work in medicine, and so, from a young age Arthur mapped out a pathway of how he could achieve his goal.
Principal Robertson with Arthur and parents.
In his earlier years of schooling at Oakleigh Grammar, the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, taught as part of the Junior School curriculum, were pivotal to Arthur’s self-belief. They provided an extremely practical framework for Arthur to follow that helped him stay consistent and accountable to his own goals. Habit 2- Begin with the end in mind – was especially important for Arthur as his goal of working in medicine was kept at the forefront of everything he did.
In his later years of schooling in the Middle and Senior Schools, Oakleigh Grammar’s Learning Enhancement team also helped Arthur flourish.
Admiringly nicknamed ‘Arthur’s Angels’, these learning assistants aided him in classes with note taking, acting as scribes for assessments and other acts of support. Arthur appreciated that his learning assistants never babied him and always kept him accountable while providing a safe space at the school.
When his final year of schooling came around in 2023, Arthur yet again aimed high and achieved excellence, taking on the leadership role of School Vice Captain, while balancing participation in the School Representative Council along with his studies – which always came first. This resulted in an outstanding ATAR of 90.85 – the third highest mark among the Class of 2023.
Although this was not high enough to get into Medicine at Monash University, Arthur began undertaking a double degree at Monash before identifying a pathway for him to achieve his ultimate goal, through a program called Excellence Through Equity, which he was accepted into at the University of Newcastle after a rigorous process.
Invited back to speak to the current Oakleigh Grammar cohort at the Whole School Blessing in Term 1, Arthur was again welcomed with open arms. As he celebrated his excitement and success of achieving his goal, he thanked all members of the Oakleigh Grammar community, from the School Board to his teachers to the learning assistants who always pushed him to be his best.
Arthur addressing the School at Whole School Blessing.
He also gave words of encouragement to all students to pursue their dreams no matter what, reiterating the importance of the 7 Habits and their practical value to not just schooling, but everyday life.
Arthur was gifted a stethoscope by Oakleigh Grammar to celebrate his achievement in commencing the study of Medicine, with School Principal Mark Robertson celebrating Arthur’s accomplishment.
“Arthur’s journey is an inspiring testament to resilience and determination. Overcoming the challenges of cerebral palsy, he not only defied expectations but also became a beacon of hope for othersm” Mr Robertson said.
“His achievement stands as a powerful reminder that with perseverance and belief, anything is possible. Arthur is truly an inspiration to all who have been and who are currently in his presence.”
Oakleigh Grammar is extremely proud of the achievements of Arthur, and they serve as a powerful reminder of every person’s ability to achieve their goals if they are willing to put in the work and believe in themselves.
Vale to my friend Alan Harris. Over two decades, what we achieved together was unparalleled. We ventured to parts of the world and staged events where others wouldn’t dare to go. Together, we completed over 40 national tours across Australia—some lasting as long as six months—and performed on the world’s grandest stages for countless heads of state and spiritual leaders. I’ve lost track of the number of international opening and closing ceremonies we brought to life, blending artistry and music in ways that inspired so many. Your legacy lives on in the hearts of more than 2 million students whose lives you’ve touched—an impact that will echo for generations.
More than anything, we became family friends, saw our families grow up, and had some of the best laughs together.
I am going to miss you like a brother.
Through your ancient culture, you taught me early the true meaning of selflessness and showed me that life isn’t about chasing fleeting illusions and cheap tickets to immortality.
The world is going to miss YOU.
The story of Alan Harris, aka Big Al will never be repeated.
You were the greatest storyteller I knew.
You will be around us forever.
Until we meet again.
My condolences to your beautiful family Leonie, April, Tristan, Tristan Harris, Azlan Azza and the grandkids and spouses.
A Bondi doctor, John Andrew Balafas, 50, has been banned from entering popular eastern suburbs venue Coogee Bay Pavilion, following allegations he breached apprehended domestic violence orders (ADVOs).
Balafas was convicted in 2023 of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, common assault, intimidation, and contravening an ADVO after an incident where he threatened a victim with an axe, slammed it on a table, punched them, and smashed a glass on their legs.
He was sentenced to an 18-month community correction order.
In December 2022, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal barred Balafas from practicing medicine for three years after finding he sexually exploited and invaded female patients during medical check-ups.
Balafas now faces two additional charges related to alleged ADVO breaches in Coogee on May 12 and September 7, 2023.
Court documents do not detail the alleged breaches, but his bail conditions, agreed upon in September last year, prohibit him from entering the Coogee Bay Pavilion.
The conditions also resulted in the forfeiture of a $30,000 surety, divided between Balafas and an unnamed acceptable person.
Balafas has pleaded not guilty to the breaches, with a hearing scheduled for March this year.
In a significant shift in US foreign policy, President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed during a 90-minute phone call to begin immediate negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
Trump described the conversation as “highly productive” and revealed that he and Putin are committed to working together to bring the conflict to an end.
“We each talked about the strengths of our respective nations, and the great benefit that we will someday have in working together,” Trump said in a social media post.
Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev / AFP via Getty Images.
Trump further emphasised that the two leaders agreed to meet in person, potentially in each other’s countries, with the main goal being to stop the ongoing fatalities in Ukraine.
“But first, as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the war with Russia/Ukraine,” he said.
Following the call, Trump appointed key officials, including Senator Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, to lead the negotiations. White House officials, however, did not clarify if Ukraine would directly participate in the talks.
The phone call came after a prisoner swap between the two countries, with Russia releasing American schoolteacher Marc Fogel in exchange for Russian criminal Alexander Vinnik.
The call is seen as part of Trump’s broader effort to challenge current US policies on the Ukraine war, particularly those of former US President Joe Biden.
Trump’s call for an end to the conflict came as Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested that NATO membership for Ukraine was unrealistic and that a negotiated peace settlement should be prioritised.
In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed willingness to work with Trump, despite the shift in direction.
I had a long and detailed conversation with President Trump. I appreciate his genuine interest in our shared opportunities and how we can bring about real peace together.
We discussed many aspects—diplomatic, military, and economic—and President Trump informed me about what… pic.twitter.com/flmigxqtbl
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 12, 2025
“I am grateful to President Trump,” Zelensky posted on social media, highlighting discussions about potential peace opportunities.
Putin, in turn, invited Trump to visit Moscow and offered to host US officials for further talks on issues of mutual interest, including Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Trump continued to emphasise the urgency of bringing the war to a close and ensuring a peaceful settlement, supported by the release of Fogel and Vinnik.
Greece’s Interior Ministry has successfully completed a historic cleanup of the country’s electoral rolls, removing 441,042 names of voters who were deceased or living abroad without active tax records or valid Greek passports.
The initiative, which began in November 2023, aimed to improve the accuracy of electoral data, focusing on individuals aged 80 and older who met specific criteria, including being born before January 1, 1944, not filing tax returns, not receiving a pension, and lacking a valid passport.
The majority of the removals were individuals who had passed away, especially abroad, but whose names remained on the rolls due to a lack of official updates.
Regions with high historical emigration saw the largest removals, with Florina in the north leading the way, where 23.9% of its voter list was deleted.
The cleanup has also corrected the reported voter abstention rate from 46.26% in the 2023 elections to 43.7%, offering a more accurate reflection of voter participation.
This update is expected to benefit political analysts and pollsters, who will now work with more reliable data.
The effort was made possible by advancements in digital public registries and improved government database connectivity, spearheaded by the Ministry of Interior’s Digital Governance and Election Directorate under Theodoros Livanios.
While this marks the first large-scale voter roll cleanup in Greece’s history, officials stress the importance of continued updates to ensure electoral accuracy moving forward.
Authorities declared a state of emergency on Greece’s Amorgos island Wednesday, February 12, as a series of earthquakes continue to rattle the south-eastern Aegean Sea region.
This follows a similar emergency declaration for nearby Santorini on February 7, after thousands of unusual tremors were recorded in an undersea area near the islands of Santorini, Ios, and Anafi – all popular tourist destinations.
Despite initial hopes that the seismic activity might be easing, a new series of magnitude 5 earthquakes has raised concerns.
Amorgos.
Seismologists have noted that the epicentre of the earthquakes is shifting northward toward Amorgos. The state of emergency will allow for the swift deployment of resources and emergency services.
Authorities have already mobilised fire departments, police, coast guard, and armed forces, particularly on Santorini, where thousands of residents and seasonal workers have evacuated.
Since January 26, around 12,000 earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 1 have been recorded, according to the University of Athens’ crisis management committee.
While Greece is in a seismically active region, such a prolonged and intense series of earthquakes is highly unusual.
Greece’s parliament has elected Constantine Tassoulas, a key ally of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, as the country’s new president, despite ongoing protests demanding justice for the fatal Tempe train crash in 2023.
Tassoulas, nominated by the conservative government, won 160 votes in the 300-seat parliament on Wednesday, February 12, succeeding Katerina Sakellaropoulou, whose term ends in March.
Mitsotakis praised Tassoulas for his political experience, widespread acceptance, and “unifying spirit,” citing these qualities as the reasons for his nomination. However, his election sparked anger among protesters outside parliament.
Many accuse Tassoulas, who served as parliamentary speaker during the time of the crash, of failing to investigate political responsibility for the tragedy.
A crane operator, firefighters and rescuers work at the scene of a collision in Tempe, about 376km north of Athens, near Larissa city, Greece. Photo: Vaggelis Kousioras / AP Photo.
In February 2023, a fatal collision between a freight train and a passenger train filled with students killed 57 people near the city of Larissa. The incident sparked nationwide protests, with many blaming safety deficiencies in Greece’s railway system and calling for accountability.
A judicial inquiry is ongoing, but political figures have not been investigated, as only parliament holds that power under Greek law.
Experts hired by the victims’ families have raised doubts about the causes of the crash, including theories surrounding the freight train’s cargo. Meanwhile, the centre-right government led by Mitsotakis has rejected accusations of any wrongdoing.
Opposition parties from the centre-left and left-wing did not support the 65-year-old Tassoulas, a lawyer with extensive political experience, having previously served as Greece’s culture minister and deputy defence minister.
Upon accepting his nomination, Tassoulas called it a “paramount honour and responsibility.”
The Greek Festival of Sydney, in collaboration with The Greek Herald, is proud to present its annual International Women’s Day event, ‘Hellenic Horizons: Greek Women Leading the Path to Progress,’ on Sunday, March 16 at The Grand Roxy in Brighton-Le-Sands, Sydney from 3.30pm.
This highly anticipated event will honour the invaluable contributions of multigenerational Hellenic women across Australia and globally. Attendees will experience a thought-provoking panel discussion under the theme ‘March Forward,’ featuring distinguished speakers:
Lieutenant Commander Pelagia Markogiannakis – Deputy Director, Navy Infrastructure.
Mary Konstantopoulos – Women’s sport advocate & Founder of Ladies Who League.
Stefanie Costi – Anti-bullying lawyer.
The discussion will be moderated by Andriana Simos, Digital Editor of The Greek Herald, with panellists sharing their journeys, challenges and triumphs, inspiring attendees to forge ahead towards greater inclusion and leadership.
Renowned photographers Effy Alexakis and Yannis Dramitinos will also showcase an exclusive exhibition celebrating the resilience, achievements and cultural heritage of Hellenic women in Australia.
Event Details:
Event:Hellenic Horizons: Greek Women Leading the Path to Progress
Date: Sunday, March 16, 2025
Time: 3:30 PM – 6:00 PM
Venue: The Grand Roxy | Reef Room (Bayside Plaza, 128 The Grand Parade, Brighton-Le-Sands NSW 2216)
Join us for an evening of inspiration, storytelling, and celebration as we honour the remarkable contributions of Hellenic women and continue to champion progress and equality for future generations.
I often hear the phrase “how many more women?” A more important question is, “how many more men will murder women before Australia wakes up?”
On Saturday, February 8, Australians gathered at the Kensington Women’s Peace Garden for a vigil organised by Australian Femicide Watch. Founded by journalist Sherele Moody, the Australian Femicide Watch’s vigil honoured the eight Australian women and three children who have been killed in 2025.
Forlorn faces, fresh flowers, and emotional speeches filled the garden with grief and anger where 60 people attended. It was disappointing there weren’t more there to hear the stories of the women and children lost to violence.
All photos copyright The Greek Herald / Christina Savopoulos.
The day after the vigil, Australian Femicide Watch announced that a woman had been beaten to death near Alice Springs, Northern Territory, by her male partner. This marked the 9th Australian woman killed in 2025.
Australian Femicide Watch details each victim’s story to honour their lives and create a space for them to be remembered. The organisation also runs a live tracker to report on all Australian women and children who are killed and relies on public donations to continue raising awareness of the violence.
Moody informed the vigil attendees that the Victorian Premier, the Minister for Men’s Behaviour Change and the Minister for Women had been invited to pay their respects to the women killed, but did not attend.
Australian government statistics reveal that ‘one in 3 women has experienced physical violence before the age of 15’ and that ‘women are 3 times more likely than men to experience violence by an intimate partner’. This year, women over 50 have been the primary victims in cases of femicide.
Moody spoke to The Greek Herald about the increasing violence against Australian women, saying, “In 2024 we lost 101 women and 16 children to acts of violence. This year we have already lost [9] women and [3] children. These numbers are likely higher as I am monitoring multiple suspected femicides and child deaths from January… With the number of femicides for the past month already so high, I fear 2025 will be much worse than 2024.”
In line with these findings, Fight The New Drug, an organisation that raises awareness about the harmful effects of pornography, has explained how ‘porn plays a role in normalising sexual violence, which can have devastating real-world consequences.’
They cite a 2018 Australian study showing that ‘1 in 4 young people had repeated exposure to depictions of violent, nonconsensual sex’ in pornography. While the study did not directly explore whether such exposure leads to real-life actions, it suggests that frequent exposure may desensitise individuals, potentially influencing their responses to similar behaviours in real life.
Australia’s education system is working to combat the exposure young people may have to violence with programs like the Victorian Respectful Relationships school program. The program launched following the Royal Commission into Family Violence, aiming to embed a ‘culture of respect and equality’ in classrooms, with the goal of transferring these values into students’ lives beyond education.
Stephanie, an experienced educator, shared, “I can see the benefits of integrating more solid programs into our curriculum through primary and secondary schooling. The benefits to continuously teaching young students how to deal with their emotions in all capacities will have a direct benefit in reducing family violence in the now and in the future.”
It is vital that we maintain this respect beyond secondary schooling at a societal level.
In May 2024, the federal government announced a $1 billion investment to reduce violence against women. The funding will go towards programs like the Leaving Violence Program and initiatives addressing young people’s online exposure to pornography.
While these are measures being taken at the government level, discussion at the vigil focused on how other areas of society can support the fight to stop violence against women.
The media’s failure to accurately report on deaths of women has continued into 2025. Their platform is vital to spread awareness of the ongoing violence. On a societal level, individuals can encourage respect for women by holding those close to them accountable for any disrespectful comments made, gradually shifting mindsets about respect.
Moody told The Greek Herald, “Every Australian needs to take a stand against violence but even more so—every Australian man has a responsibility to make change.”
She emphasised that “almost all the women killed [in 2024] were lost to acts of violence perpetrated by men. Violence against women is a male problem… Only men can fix male violence. Women can’t fix it.”
As a society we have the power to reshape mindsets. It is important for Australian women and children that we take a stance and continue to emphasise that such violence is unacceptable.
