Beauty and the Geek star Jordan Ray Finlayson’s money troubles revealed
A troubled former reality TV personality has told a court she is struggling to raise the money to pay for a lawyer to challenge her drug-driving sentence.
Jordan Ray Finlayson appeared in the NSW District Court on Wednesday to ask the court to defer her appeal against the severity of her 18-month community corrections order.
She told the court that she needed two months to earn enough money to pay for a lawyer to represent her in the legal battle.
“I just need time to get the money together,” the former Beauty and the Geek contestant explained.
“I need to raise the money of about $3,000.
Jordan Ray Finlayson has told a court she is struggling to raise money to pay a lawyer to challenge her drug-driving sentence. Pictured
The former Beauty and the Geek star appeared in the NSW District Court on Wednesday to ask the court to delay her appeal against the severity of her 18-month community corrections order
The court heard she had been refused legal aid because her non-custodial sentence did not meet their criteria.
The former NRL cheerleader said she had since been in contact with lawyer Claudia McCristal, who told her she needed payment up front for her services.
She asked for a two-month extension so she could earn enough money to cover legal costs.
“I work casually, but I am working on getting more work,” Finlayson told the court.
Judge John North agreed to adjourn the appeal until May so she could receive proper instructions.
He noted that the ex-Penthouse model will also be sentenced next month on unrelated charges.
“You’re going to have a little trouble brewing these different cases,” the judge told her.
Finlayson was convicted in November of driving under the influence of drugs, driving with drugs in her system, and possession of illegal drugs.
She is appealing the severity of her sentence for the first two convictions after she was given an 18-month correction order, 150 hours of community service and a $500 fine.
She told the court she needed two months to earn enough money to pay a lawyer to represent her in the legal battle
The former professional dancer was also disqualified from driving for two years.
Court documents show she was high on meth when she crashed her white Toyota Yaris into a guardrail in Sydney’s west just before 4am on February 7 last year.
When police arrived on the scene, Finlayson was unconscious in the driver’s seat and woke up when police opened the passenger door.
She began acting erratically and leaned toward the passenger side and mumbled “hey honey” into the empty seat, according to the documents.
The former reality TV personality struggled to get up and was unable to answer police questions other than to say she had been drinking alcohol.
A blood test showed she had gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) and meth in her system at the time of the accident.
Two months later, Finlayson was again caught driving with crystal meth in her system when she was stopped by police for a random roadside drug test in Sydney’s east.
Since her appearance on Beauty and the Geek in 2011 alongside Julian Stevensen, she has been in and out of rehabilitation and court.
Since her appearance on Beauty and the Geek in 2011 alongside Julian Stevensen, she has been in and out of rehab and courts.