When fraud offences charges arise alongside ASIC enforcement, professional deregistration proceedings, or referral from a regulatory body, the legal matter that results is more complex than a standalone criminal charge. Professionals including accountants, financial advisers, company directors, and licensed practitioners who find themselves facing fraud offences charges in Melbourne alongside regulatory action by ASIC, APRA, or their relevant registration body need a fraud offences lawyer who understands both the criminal proceeding and the regulatory enforcement track running beside it. Decisions made in one can affect the other, and the two require coordinated management from the outset. All lawyers profiled below are established Victorian criminal defence practitioners, with several recognised by Doyle's Guide and Best Lawyers.
Bill Doogue is Director and founding partner of Doogue + George Defence Lawyers, established in 1995, which has defended more than 40,000 prosecutions. Admitted in 1991 and an Accredited Criminal Law Specialist since 1998, he is ranked Pre-eminent in Criminal Law Defence by Doyle's Guide and listed in Best Lawyers for Criminal Defence (2025). Among the practice characteristics most directly relevant to professionals facing ASIC and regulatory action alongside fraud offences charges are his specific focus areas , tax fraud, white collar crime, complex commercial crime, foreign bribery, and cross-border matters , and his experience with the agencies most commonly involved in regulatory criminal referrals, including the AFP, ATO, and ASIC itself.
He has appeared before the High Court of Australia, represented clients at Royal Commission hearings, and practised in courts across Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, and South Australia. His international advisory work covers Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Singapore, which is directly relevant where fraud offences charges involve cross-border regulatory investigations. He designed Crimebase, a relational database for criminal law practice that won the C.C.H. Legal Technology Award. He is a founding member of the Australian Defence Lawyers Alliance and is involved in running the Australian Criminal Lawyers Conference. He served for over a decade as Chairperson of the Broadmeadows Community Legal Centre. His matters have been reported in The Age, The Australian, The Guardian, CNN, and the Daily Mail. A Wikipedia entry documents his career across terrorism, foreign bribery, political corruption, Royal Commission representation, and institutional abuse matters. For a professional facing fraud offences charges alongside ASIC or regulatory action, his combination of Accredited Specialist status, Pre-eminent Doyle's ranking, and a practice built specifically around the commercial crime and cross-border fraud category is the relevant benchmark.
The breadth of Howard Rapke's recognition across Doyle's Guide, Best Lawyers, and Who's Who Legal simultaneously reflects a practice that moves between complex commercial litigation, white collar criminal defence, and regulatory enforcement. As Partner and National Head of Disputes and Litigation at Holding Redlich, he brings more than 30 years of Victorian and Federal practice to matters in this category. Doyle's Guide lists him as Leading in both Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution (Victorian) and White Collar Crime, Corporate Crime and Regulatory Investigations (national). Best Lawyers lists him for Criminal Defence, Litigation, and Alternative Dispute Resolution from 2017 to 2026. Who's Who Legal recognises him globally in Business Crime, Investigations and Asset Recovery since 2019.
At least 30 years of serious criminal defence experience across Victorian and Federal jurisdictions, combined with Doyle's Guide's Pre-eminent ranking in Criminal Law Defence for 2026, underpins Tony Hargreaves's standing as Principal of Tony Hargreaves and Associates. He operates as both solicitor advocate and instructor. The Pre-eminent tier is the most senior Doyle's Guide awards through peer review within the Victorian criminal defence profession, and the direct-conduct boutique structure means that standing is the practitioner's personally, not shared across a team.
Angus Cameron is Principal, Partner, and Director of Angus Cameron and Associates, listed by Doyle's Guide as Recommended in Criminal Law Defence for 2026, a peer-reviewed recognition within the Victorian profession. He practises as both solicitor advocate and instructor and conducts matters directly at the boutique he heads, with senior involvement throughout each brief.
Chen Yang focuses on serious indictable criminal defence in Victoria as Partner and Director of Paul Vale and Associates. Known among peers for thorough preparation of contested briefs, he practises in both English and Mandarin, a practical capability for matters involving Mandarin-speaking clients or Mandarin-language evidence. He operates as both solicitor advocate and instructor.
For a professional facing fraud offences charges in Melbourne alongside ASIC or regulatory action, the combination of criminal defence experience and familiarity with the regulatory enforcement track is the primary selection criterion. The practitioners profiled above are a verified starting point for that selection within the Melbourne criminal defence profession for matters in this category.