R v Day
[2009] VSC 266
•31 July 2009
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA Not Restricted AT GEELONG
CRIMINAL DIVISION
No. 1457 of 2008
THE QUEEN v ROBERT EWEN DAY
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JUDGE:
FORREST J
WHERE HELD:
Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:
16 March 2009 (Plea), 5 June (Plea)
DATE OF SENTENCE:
31 July 2009
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:
R v Day
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:
[2009] VSC 266
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CRIMINAL LAW – Sentencing – Fraud – Conveyancing – Obtaining property by deception – Obtaining financial advantage by deception – Multiple counts of theft - 182 counts alleged – Continuing criminal enterprise counts – Sentencing considerations – Plea of guilty – Approximately $6 million misappropriated.
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APPEARANCES:
Counsel Solicitors For the Crown (on 16 March 2009)
(on 5 June 2009)Mr B. Kissane
Mr D. CordyOffice of Public Prosecutions For the Accused (on 16 March 2009)
(on 5 June 2009)Mr B. Wilkinson
Mr P.A. Dunn QCTony Hannebery, Barrister and Solicitor HIS HONOUR:
1 Robert Ewen Day, you have pleaded guilty to serial offences of fraudulent conduct over a period of eight years from 1996 to 2004. During that time, you operated a conveyancing practice in Geelong and your clients have, as a result of that conduct, lost, in total, approximately $6,000,000.
2 You deliberately deceived and defrauded them; many regarded you as a friend and a significant number have suffered dire consequences as a result of your actions. You have pleaded guilty to 182 counts relating to obtaining property by deception, obtaining a financial advantage by deception, theft and the making of and using false documents. In addition to these indictable offences, you have also pleaded guilty to six breaches of s 19 of the Fair Trading Act 1999 (Vic).
Maximum penalties
3 The maximum penalty for the charges of obtaining property by deception, obtaining a financial advantage by deception, theft, making a false document and using a false document is ten years’ imprisonment on each count. The maximum penalty in relation to the Fair Trading Act offences is a fine of approximately $6,000 on each charge.
4 A large number of the indictable counts fall within the provisions of Part 2B of the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) – “continuing criminal enterprise offenders”. This means that you are liable for a term of imprisonment of double the sentencing maximum on any count which is a “CCE” offence.[1]
[1]Section 6H and s 6I Sentencing Act.
5 I have, in the schedules summarising the sentences I intend to impose upon you, identified those counts which are continuing criminal enterprise offences and the maximum penalty for those counts.
Background to the offences
6 You were born at Hamilton in 1944 and are now 65 years of age. You are married to Barbara and have three adult children; Stuart 34, Rachel 32, and Cameron 31.
7 You were educated at Branxholme Primary School and then at Hamilton High School to Year 10. After working for the Commercial Bank of Australia for approximately ten years, you then worked for three years in the United Kingdom. Whilst there, you acquired skills in conveyancing when employed by a legal firm in that country. After you returned to Australia, you married in 1972 and commenced working as a law clerk in a Geelong solicitor’s office. Subsequently, you were involved in commercial businesses in the Geelong area, but returned to conveyancing work in the late 70s.
8 In 1978 you commenced working for a local solicitor, Mr Philip Boston. On 31 August 1988 you set up a business known as Grove Conveyancing Services (“GCS”), which worked out of Mr Boston’s offices.
9 In 1994, you employed your brother, Jeffrey Day, on a part-time and then full-time basis as a member of the staff of GCS.
10 GCS was originally established as a partnership operated by Alanna Boston, Philip Boston’s wife, and your wife, Barbara Day. In 2002, Barbara Day ceased to be a partner in the business. Alanna Boston was a silent partner who received no payments from the business. You were its driving force.
11 GCS flourished and, at the time of its collapse in October 2004, operated two offices, one in Geelong and one in Werribee, and employed some seven staff members. Many residents of Geelong and surrounding areas utilised GCS’s services.
12 Between approximately 1996 and 2004, funds lodged by clients for a diverse range of purposes were used by you without their authorisation. I will set out shortly the methods employed by you to misappropriate your clients’ funds. Each involved dealing with money contrary to the clients’ instructions and on many occasions you misrepresented the true position of the clients’ funds.
13 Oddly, and apparently coincidentally, at the same time that you were fraudulently utilising clients’ funds, your brother, Jeffrey Day, was involved in multiple thefts from the “trust accounts”, resulting in the sum of approximately $1.4 million being stolen by him. He was, in October 2007, sentenced in the County Court to a period of imprisonment of eight years and six months, with five years and nine months set as the non-parole term.[2]
[2]There is no suggestion that any parity principle applies.
14 GCS operated four bank accounts: a nominal trust account and an office account for each of the Geelong branch and the Werribee branch of GCS. Describing the two trust accounts as such is to give credence only to the name. There was a regular inflow of funds from non-client sources and, more significantly, a large outflow of funds to persons other than the client or an authorised payee.
15 Although you were operating a multi-million dollar business engaged in many, many financial transactions, the bookkeeping was atrocious. There were no proper financial records. No trust ledgers or journals were maintained. There was no auditing of the books. There were no annual returns. Scrappy pieces of paper and bank statements offer the only source of information in relation to the inflow and outflow of funds.
16 The lack of controls over the manner in which the funds within the GCS Trust Accounts were managed permitted you and your brother to appropriate funds at will from the “trust accounts”.
17 Because of the totally inadequate record keeping maintained by you, the task of the police and the forensic accountant engaged by the police, Mr Curtin, has been extraordinarily difficult. The paper trail cannot be followed as such because of the lack of paper. What is abundantly clear, at the least, is that between 1996 and 2004 the funds contained in the trust accounts were considerably less than the amount that should have been present in those accounts.
18 The lack of adequate bookkeeping has meant that determining exactly what amount has been misappropriated by the various means you employed has not been easy. Mr Curtin spent several years endeavouring to reconstruct the accounts of GCS. His unchallenged conclusion was that, as at September 2004, just short of $7.5 million should have been present in the so-called trust accounts. In fact, the balance was $174,756. It is accepted by the prosecution that an amount of approximately $1.4 million was misappropriated by your brother, Jeffrey Day. Although it is difficult in the extreme to be precise as to the overall loss suffered by your clients from your actions, it can, I think, be safely said to be at least $6 million.[3]
[3]See paras 35 to 61 of Exhibit P1 – Crown opening.
19 Those funds appear to have been disposed of by you in two ways. Firstly, and I am prepared to accept primarily, to fund payments of interest or repayments of capital to other lenders – in other words, a Ponzi scheme.[4] The bizarre aspect of your operation was that, given the manner in which the funds were invested, it would never have been possible to recoup the payments made by you to clients, as the moneys were placed into either no interest or very low interest bearing accounts whilst you were promising high rates of return. Secondly, I accept that a reasonable proportion of GCS money was utilised by you to your own benefit and that of your family in terms of financing lifestyle, property purchases, overseas holidays and provision for your children.
[4]Ponzi schemes are named after Charles Ponzi, a fraudster who operated in New England in the 1920s. The basis of such a scheme is that new investors’ money is used to pay off earlier investors (capital or interest or both) until the scheme collapses: see Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Atlantic 3 Financial & Ors [2006] QSC 132 [30].
20 To the victims, it is little comfort as to what was done with the money, as many have ended up significantly out of pocket and, as will be seen, to a number this has had devastating results.
21 The investigations by Mr Curtin did not reveal any large sums spent on life’s extravagances.[5] Given the appalling nature of your record keeping, he was unable to identify what amount had been channelled back into the business to prop it up and what amount had been applied by you for personal gain.[6] The one point that he was clear about and I accept, is that it was inevitable that this scheme would ultimately be uncovered, and I think there was some force in his observation “It’s simply a situation where things just spiralled and just went out of control”.[7]
[5]T70.
[6]T69.
[7]T71.
22 At the time of collapse of GCS, in early October 2004, you were holidaying in England with your wife. You returned to Australia on 22 October and were interviewed by the police at the Geelong Crime Investigation Unit. You denied any criminal behaviour and asserted that any shortfall was due to negligence on your part. The business closed and you went into voluntary bankruptcy. $292,488, only a small proportion of the misappropriated funds, was recovered by Mr McGibbon, your trustee in bankruptcy.
23 The Crown identified a number of separate categories of fraudulent activity on your part, some of which overlap, but all of which involved criminality. For instance, the counts in respect of forged documents relate directly to your deception of clients in relation to investment funds lodged with GCS and are intricately bound up with such charges. The personal drawings counts reflect the other side of the coin in relation to the misappropriation of investment funds – the funds were placed with GCS and you then wrongfully appropriated these moneys.
24 It would be unfair to you to suggest that the amount lost as a result of your fraudulent conduct is reflected by simply adding up the amounts contained in the presentment. In some cases no loss was incurred, notwithstanding that you obtained the benefit of particular sums of money for a period of time. In others only a proportion of the moneys identified in the presentment was lost. It is important, therefore, to have regard to the bottom line, which is that, on Mr Curtin’s uncontested evidence, your clients have lost approximately $6 million.
Wrongful use of investment funds
25 The following counts relate to this practice: 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27 (rolled up), 28, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 67 (rolled up), 69, 70, 71, 73, 74, 77, 78, 79, 80, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 91, 95, 100, 102, 104, 105, 106, 113, 114, 119, 126, 134, 139, 140, 142, 143, 152, 153, 156, 157, 170, 175, 176, 177 (rolled up), 179.
26 A number of these counts are also continuing criminal enterprise offences under Part 2B of the Sentencing Act: 10, 20, 21, 25, 26, 30, 34, 35, 36, 38, 41, 42, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 59, 61, 62, 69, 70, 71, 73, 74, 77, 78, 80, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 91, 95, 100, 102, 105, 106, 113, 114, 119, 126, 134, 139, 152, 153, 157, 170, 175, 176.
27 There is also one rolled up count, Count 1, which includes moneys fraudulently obtained from a client, William Dillon, for both investment purposes and payments of stamp duty and Titles Office fees.
28 Between approximately 1996 and 2004, you misled clients who had entrusted you with funds to be invested on their behalf.[8] Many of them lost substantial sums by reason of your misappropriation of their moneys. You would approach clients and invite them to place funds with you for investment purposes. Generally, this would occur after you had acted for the client as a vendor in a sale of property and funds had been received by you and placed in the so-called GCS trust accounts. You would guarantee the client a return of somewhere between 7% to 10% per annum on the investment. You provided a variety of explanations as to how the money would be invested and often assured the clients that the moneys were protected in a trust account supervised by a regulatory body.
[8]Crown opening – Exhibit P1, pp.17, 20.
29 On occasions you furthered the deception by providing forged receipts or other documents (such as mortgages) which falsely represented that the moneys were secured.[9] Letters were forwarded from time to time to clients detailing the fictitious nature of the investment and the interest it had earned. At times, investors would seek to withdraw capital. During the years up to 2003, you were able to accommodate such requests. In 2004, as the financial position of GCS worsened, you delayed repayments until the collapse of GCS in October.
[9]Crown opening – Exhibit P1, [76], Exhibit P4 – the Spurlings documents.
30 Whilst it is clear that you misappropriated the funds detailed in each of the counts, especially those held by you during 2004, the fact is that many investors, as in most Ponzi schemes, were lucky to receive anything by way of repayment in terms of interest or capital. As I have said, funds provided by new investors were used to pay interest or, at times, repayments of capital to other investors. As with all such schemes, it was inevitable that once there was a run or demands made by investors for repayment, your actions would be exposed.
31 Peter Kanellos’ experience provides an example. You held over $130,000 of his funds; you suggested to him that you hold it as an investment with a guaranteed return of interest. He approached you for the return of his money and you repaid some of the money, but he was left with a loss of $45,000 when GCS collapsed.[10] The Mitchell family were less fortunate. They lost approximately $400,000 in total when GSC collapsed.[11]
[10]Count 71.
[11]Counts 39, 40, 41, 42, 153, 342.
32 You were less than helpful to the police when they interviewed you in relation to these manifestly fraudulent practices, asserting that everything you had done was in good faith.[12] You maintained during both interviews that it was lack of care, rather than dishonesty, which underpinned the losses.
[12]Crown opening – Exhibit P1 [83].
Misappropriation of settlement moneys
33 The following counts relate to this practice: 136, 141, 147, 148, 165, 167, 168, 169, 171, 172, 173 and 174.[13]
[13]A number of these counts on the presentment are differently worded, however each involves the failure by Mr Day to pay settlement moneys due to his clients.
34 Counts 136, 147, 148, 165, 168, 169, 171, 172 and 174 are CCE offences.
35 Each of these clients had engaged GCS to act on their behalf in the sale of a property during 2004. As your situation became desperate, you retained the funds which had been paid by the purchasers to your clients but held by you pending disbursement to the clients. Most, if not all, were deliberately misled by you as to what was happening with their money until it was too late for them to recover their funds. Only a few received a portion of their funds. In the main, these clients lost substantial sums of money which should have been accounted for by you directly upon settlement being effected.
36 The case of Mrs Mavis Avery[14] provides an example of the manner in which you carried out this fraud. She engaged you to undertake the conveyancing of the sale of her home in Apollo Bay during April 2004 which she had sold with the intention of purchasing a unit later that year. She says that she was told by you that the proceeds from the sale of the home would be held in trust with Mr Boston and that she should leave everything to you and you would look after her. Although she was able to redirect the sum of $136,000 when the business collapsed, she was left with a loss of $414,000 and could not proceed with the purchase of the new unit.[15]
[14]Count 147.
[15]Prosecution brief, witness index 004.
37 Graeme Saddington is another example.[16] He engaged GCS to provide conveyancing services for the subdivision of his property at Grovedale. He lost over $300,000 which had been paid to GCS by the purchasers to be held in trust on his behalf. You also misled him on a number of occasions as to the whereabouts and disposition of the funds.
[16]Counts 171, 172 and 173.
Misappropriation of stamp duty and Titles Office fees
38 The following counts relate to this practice: 2, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 32, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 64, 65, 66, 68 (rolled up), 72, 75, 76, 81, 82, 88, 89, 90, 92, 93, 94, 96, 97, 98, 99 (rolled up), 101, 103, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 115, 116, 117, 118, 120, 124, 125, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 135, 138, 144, 145, 146, 149, 150, 151, 154, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 164, 166, 178, 180, 181 and 182.
39 Of these counts, one qualifies as a continuing criminal enterprise under Part 2B of the Sentencing Act: Count 115 involving the sum of $62,320.00.
40 There is also a rolled up count, Count 1, which relates in part to this practice.
41 Between 1996 and 2004, you misappropriated a total amount of $693,970[17] of clients’ funds by not paying stamp duty and Titles Office fees on conveyances handled by you.
[17]Crown opening – Exhibit P1 [61].
42 Your approach was simple. Where a client obtained a clear Title (i.e. without the necessity of the registering of a mortgage), you obtained funds from the client to pay the stamp duty and any other Titles Office fees which were subsequently not paid to the State Revenue Office or Land Titles Victoria. You would send letters to the client detailing the costs necessary to effect settlement and then, after receipt of funds, confirm with the client that the documents had been registered and stamped, as the client expected.[18] To further this deception, you would lodge with the local council and water authority a change of ownership so that rate notices went to the client, whereas the property had, of course, not been transferred. The monies obtained were not paid to the appropriate bodies and remained within the so-called trust accounts to be disposed of as you saw fit.
[18]Exhibit P3 – the documents relating to the property purchase by the Krells in January 2003.
43 The experience of Linda La Spada is an example of this practice.[19] Lynda and her husband purchased a property in Batesford in December 2003. You rang them in early 2004, asking them to forward stamp duty and Titles Office fees to GCS totalling $8,407. The settlement was concluded, however the Title was not transferred and no moneys paid in respect of stamp duty and Titles Office fees as you had represented to them.
[19]Count 120.
44 These clients were unaware that the properties had not been transferred into their names until after the closure of GCS. Many experienced angst and concern over what would happen to properties that they believed had been registered in their name. Fortunately, some of the victims were ultimately able to receive an ex gratia payment in respect of the stamp duties, and in some instances Land Titles Victoria waived its fees.
45 You admitted to the police that you had not paid such fees but again did not accept that it was dishonest but attributed it to slackness and negligence.
Delayed settlements
46 The following counts relate to this practice: 55, 121, 122, 123, 137 (rolled up), 155 and 163.
47 Counts 55, 121, 122, 155 and 163 are continuing criminal enterprise offences.
48 These counts relate to clients who had provided you with funds to effect settlements on a certain date but those settlements were deliberately delayed by you. They also involve false representations made by you to vendors concerning the delay in effecting settlement which enabled you to use the funds provided by your clients. In each case the vendor suffered no loss as a result of your conduct.
49 Your conduct in relation to these counts was to delay the settlement when you were acting for a purchaser, having received the funds from the client. You would provide a false explanation to the vendor’s solicitor for your failure to settle for the purchase, notwithstanding that your client, the purchaser, had lodged the funds with you. In most circumstances you did not inform your client of the delay and you paid the penalty interest which had accrued to the vendor.
50 Alan Martin’s experience is an example of this. [20] In July 2003, he provided GCS with payment for land he had purchased, including moneys to be directed towards stamp duty and Titles Office transfer fees. After GCS collapsed, he became aware not only that the Title to his property was still registered in the name of the previous owner (stamp duty and Titles Office fees having not been paid), but also that settlement took place at a later point of time than had been arranged and that you had paid penalty interest in relation to that settlement.
[20]Count 155.
Forged documents
51 Counts 5 and 6 relate to making and using false documents over a lengthy period of time and involve 19 clients.
52 As I have mentioned, to facilitate your fraud in relation to the investment arrangements, you drew up false documents to satisfy clients as to the security of their investment. Often those documents were false mortgages of land but also included discharges of mortgages, copies of altered Certificates of Title and forged bank letters. Most of the forged mortgages were unregistered, however you stamped several of them to provide additional legitimacy to the false security.
53 Often the false mortgages, discharges or bank releases related to properties held by other clients of GCS. None of the victims who were purported mortgagors had any idea of your activities, which were, of course, completely unauthorized. They have experienced considerable distress and angst relating to the false mortgages and attempts to clarify the correct position with the defrauded “mortgagees”.
54 An example of this conduct is contained in the evidence of Lisa Mitchell, whose family was a client of GCS.[21] You forged her name as a mortgagor on two mortgages, as well as a Transfer of Land form. You also, on one of the documents, purported to be a witness to her signature. Indeed, properties of the Mitchell family were the subject of multiple other forged documents.
[21]See [31].
Personal drawings
55 Counts 29 and 37 are rolled up counts of theft from GCS trust accounts and relate to your use of funds contained in those accounts for personal expenses.
56 Determining the exact amount appropriated by you is virtually impossible, as you used the trust accounts as personal accounts and thus there was an inflow as well as an outflow of funds on your behalf.
57 You used the GCS trust accounts to fund a number of personal payments, such as credit card accounts of yourself and your family, travelling expenses, personal loans to others, the purchase by your wife of a property at Apollo Bay and a time share unit.
58 You maintained the fraud by writing on the cheque butt a false name, generally of a client, notwithstanding that the cheque itself was drawn to pay, in most circumstances, personal expenses.[22]
[22]See Crown opening [127].
The Fair Trading Act charges
59 These are summary offences punishable by fine, where appropriate. These charges were uplifted from the Magistrates’ Court pursuant to s 359AA of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic).
60 The charges in relation to breaches of s 19 of the Fair Trading Act 1999 (Vic) relate to representations made to particular clients in relation to payments of stamp duty and land title office fees. Your conduct in relation to the clients who are the subjects of charges 1, 2 and 3 are also the subject of Counts 115, 94 and 118 on the presentment.
61 Those clients involved in charges 4, 5 and 6 were also misled by you as to the use of the funds in the manner which I have set out at [41] – [45].
The effect upon the victims of your actions
62 Some 16 persons who had monies with GCS have filed Victim Impact Statements. The effect of your wrongdoing cannot be underestimated. Many of your victims were either approaching retirement or in retirement and relied upon those funds to ensure their welfare in their retirement years. They are not in a position to earn extra income in an attempt to ameliorate the damage caused by your actions. Instead of being able to assist their children and grandchildren as planned, they now find themselves forced to rely on them for support. A number of your victims are dealing with the prospect of having to deal with a future very different to the one they had planned and worked for.
63 I have already mentioned Mrs Mavis Avery.[23] She is an elderly widow. She sold her family home and placed the proceeds in the so-called GCS trust account. Both her husband and daughter had died from cancer and it was her aim that the funds invested with GCS would provide for her in her retirement. She has lost over $400,000. She is now reliant upon the pension and the goodwill and financial assistance of her children. She has no financial security. Rather than living in a smaller house as she had hoped, she has been forced to live in a cottage built in her daughter’s backyard. She has been shattered by your actions.
[23]See [36], Count 147.
64 Others affected by your actions tell similar stories: “I struggle to live off my pension each fortnight”.[24] “I lost about $8,000 which was my nest-egg to use for repairs and maintenance”.[25] “The fact that Bob Day was regarded by us as a trusted friend of over 20 years has destroyed my trusting attitude to all people”.[26] “I personally lost $120,000. This money was part of a compensation claim due to physical injuries. As a single person in poor health due to chronic disease, this money was my security for my future. Bob Day, being a trusted family friend, had known only too well of my fragile circumstances”.[27] “My life has been in turmoil since this incident, with trust, health and family issues”.[28] “Retirement is not as comfortable as we had planned it to be as the reduction in superannuation funds dictates a lower pension on which to live”.[29] “The theft of this money has had a substantial effect on our lives in many ways. Financially, we will never recover. Both Brian and I are pensioners and due to Brian’s age and my disability (I am an insulin dependent diabetic and suffer from osteoarthritis) we have no capacity to earn money now above what the pension provides. We have no superannuation and the money stolen by Day was our nest-egg, intended to be used to supplement our retirement”.[30]
[24]Mevlida Dalipi.
[25]Mr Gerard Nicholls.
[26]Kevin Mitchell.
[27]Lisa Mitchell.
[28]Raymond Morell.
[29]Graeme Saddington.
[30]Christine Thripp.
65 Mr McGibbon, your trustee in bankruptcy, has said: “Many of the victims are really doing it tough as their life savings have been taken from them and they no longer have the property either. … The majority of the victims now have no faith in the system and have no or very little trust in conveyancing or lawyers and this therefore means the theft has put a huge dent in their lives, their approach to business transactions and, in particular a lack of faith and trust in the legal system in this State”.
66 The above is but a selection of a diverse range of statements made by clients affected by your actions. I hope that I do no injustice or disservice to those whose statements I have not mentioned. One thing is abundantly clear; many of the victims reposed their trust in you and relied upon access to the funds as forming part and parcel of their retirement package. The abuse of this trust has been highlighted by many as one of the most traumatic aspects of your crimes. Whilst some have been affected less than others, there can be no doubt that your actions have produced marked misery and mental distress amongst your former clients, many of whom thought they were your friends.
Mitigatory considerations
67 There are a number of factors which need to be taken into account in your favour in imposing any sentence upon you.
68 First is your plea of guilty. This must be given due weight. Your plea has saved the community substantial cost and avoided a lengthy trial and the stresses which would have been placed on the victims in attending the trial and giving evidence.
69 The question of true remorse is vexing. You were not forthcoming to the police and maintained for some time that the losses were due to negligence and bad bookkeeping, rather than deliberate fraud. You provided little, if any, assistance in reconstructing your financial records. Mr Curtin said that if you had assisted in the ledger reconstruction it would have “saved a lot of time, saved a lot of my guesswork trying to reconcile things”.[31] On the other hand, each of your children has, in their statements, said that you are sorry for what has happened and for the predicament of many of your former friends and clients. You also told the forensic psychologist, Mr Joblin, that you were genuinely sorry. Given your plea and the statements of your children, I am prepared to accept that, at least to a degree, there is an element of remorse on your part for the plight of those affected by your actions.
[31]T70.
70 Then there is your previous good character. You have no prior convictions. Prior to 1995, there is no suggestion that you had been involved in any criminal activity and, indeed, it appears as though you had led a blameless life. I heard evidence of your previous good character from Mr Waters, a long time friend, and have read a number of impressive character references provided to me on your behalf. I readily accept that until this episode, you were a person of good character and that, to some extent, this persistent fraudulent conduct was the product of a vicious cycle from which you could not extract yourself. As I have already said, that is cold comfort to the victims.
71 The question of rehabilitation is somewhat illusory – you will be in your 70s upon release and I accept that there is little prospect of you ever being in a position to re-offend.
72 As emphasised by your counsel, there is the issue of your age. You will, I was told, be one of the oldest prisoners in the Victorian prison population. You are currently 65 years of age and will have to serve a sentence into your 70s.
73 Then there is your medical condition. Although your general health seems relatively good, there are attendant risks as you age. Your daughter is a doctor and has provided a medical report. I also heard evidence from your general practitioner whose clinical notes were tendered. You are a chronic asthmatic and suffer from positional vertigo. You, like many others of your age, have high blood pressure and run the risk of a cardiovascular event. Your daughter holds significant and ongoing concerns about what she perceives are high levels of anxiety and depression concerning your current predicament. When seen recently at St Vincent’s Correctional Health, you were noted to be anxious and subsequently antidepressants were prescribed for you.
74 I accept the statement of your son, Cameron, that since the discovery of these events you have been ostracised from the community and, as your son notes, been bankrupted and unemployable. This has, I also accept, produced significant anxiety and stress. I think that there is something in your children’s assessment that you have difficulty expressing yourself adequately and have a complex emotional make-up.
75 Next, there is the delay which has occurred since your activities were discovered in October 2005. The law requires me to take into account both the delay between the discovery of the commission of the offences and the laying of the charges (29 April 2008) and the delay after the laying of charges.[32] Whilst it is a relevant factor that over two years elapsed before you were charged, I do not regard the period from the time you were first interviewed to the time you were charged as inordinate, particularly as to a large extent the delay was due to your own hopeless record keeping and your failure to assist the police and Mr Curtin in relation to their inquiries. However, I am conscious of the fact that there has been overall a delay of nearly four years during which the prospect of imprisonment (inevitable as it was) has weighed heavily upon you and caused anxiety and uncertainty.
[32]R v Merrett & Ors (2007) 14 VR 392, R v Tiburcy [2006] VSCA 244.
76 In summary, there are a number of reasons why a degree of mercy should be extended to you, notwithstanding the protracted course of your fraudulent conduct and the distress that it has caused many of your friends and clients.
Analysis
77 Your actions of deliberate dishonesty over a period of nearly ten years have caused heartache and misery to many of your friends and clients. Some have been utterly devastated by your actions. Others not so drastically affected have nevertheless suffered significant degrees of anxiety and stress. The aggregate sum misappropriated by you is large. Whilst there are a number of mitigatory considerations in your favour, they need to be balanced against the deliberate fraud you perpetrated, impervious, it would seem, to the consequences to those you defrauded. Your conduct was repetitive and took place over a lengthy period of time. You must have been aware of the potential impact that it would have upon your clients, particularly those who trusted you with their life savings or substantial nest eggs.
78 It is necessary, in terms of imposing an appropriate sentence, to denunciate your conduct for the reasons I have set out. Moreover, a message must be sent to others in the community who handle funds in a position of trust on behalf of clients that fraudulent misconduct involving those funds and the consequent breach of trust will result in severe consequences, notwithstanding mitigatory considerations. The principle of general deterrence is important in imposing a sentence upon you.[33]
[33]R v Bulfin [1998] 4 VR 114, 132.
79 For many years, your clients placed their trust in you in relation to the handling of their money in a variety of contexts. Over that period, you abused that trust by dealing fraudulently with their money to the extent that several of them lost their life savings; others lost sums of money which they could ill-afford to lose and were placed in stressful and anxious situations. No doubt one of the real consequences as a result of your breach of trust is the lack of faith that many of those clients must now have in their own judgment.
80 On a number of the counts the law requires that the maximum statutory penalty be doubled, as it falls within the continuing criminal enterprise provisions of the Sentencing Act. It is appropriate therefore to impose greater penalties on those counts rather than on the counts that do not fall within those provisions. I am also mindful, in determining your overall term of imprisonment, of the fact that the maximum penalty is 20 years on each CCE count.
81 Ordinarily, you would be sentenced separately on each count with a degree of accumulation on each count. This is because each of the offences has resulted in particular loss and distress to that victim. However such an approach is not practical, given the large number of counts to which you have pleaded guilty. In your situation the law requires that I consider the overall impact of a sentence upon you and not look individually at the multiplicity of offences. The law also requires me to avoid imposing a crushing sentence and to take into account the effect of the total sentence imposed upon you, particularly given your age and the inevitable decline in your health whilst in prison.
Sentence
82 In relation to the wrongful use of investment funds counts (CCE offences), you are convicted and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment on each count. These are set out in Schedule A1. In relation to the wrongful use of investment funds counts (non-CCE offences), you are convicted and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment on each count involving sums of over $50,000 and to two years’ imprisonment on those involving sums below $50,000. These are set out in Schedule A2.
83 In relation to the misappropriation of settlement moneys counts (CCE offences), you are convicted and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment on each count. These are set out in Schedule B1. In relation to the misappropriation of settlement moneys counts (non-CCE offences) identified in Schedule B2, you are sentenced to two years’ imprisonment (with the exception of Count 167 in respect of which you are sentenced to three months’ imprisonment).
84 In relation to the misappropriation of stamp duty and Titles Office fees counts (CCE offence – Count 115), you are convicted and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment. This is set out in Schedule C1. In relation to the misappropriation of stamp duty and Titles Office fees counts (non-CCE offences), you are convicted and sentenced to one year’s imprisonment on each count. These are set out in Schedule C2.
85 In relation to the delayed settlement counts (CCE offences), you are convicted and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment on each count. In relation to the delayed settlement counts (non-CCE offences), you are convicted and sentenced to three months’ imprisonment on each count. These are set out in Schedules D1 and D2.
86 In relation to the forged documents counts (Counts 5 and 6), you are convicted and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment on each count. These are set out in Schedule E (to which the annexures detail each of the victims of the forgeries).
87 In relation to the theft by the making of personal drawings from the trust account counts (Counts 29 and 37), you are sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. These are set out in Schedule F.
88 On the rolled up count, Count 1, you are sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. Schedule G covers this count.
89 In relation to the summary Fair Trading Act charges, you are convicted and fined $1,000 on counts 4, 5 and 6 and convicted with no penalty on Counts 1, 2 and 3. These are set out in Schedule H.
90 I make the following orders in relation to cumulation. I order that the base sentence is five years’ imprisonment on Count 147 (a CCE offence relating to the misappropriation of settlement moneys). I further order that in relation to Count 170 (a CCE investment funds count) that four years of that count is to be served cumulatively upon the base sentence. I further order that in relation to Count 115 (a CCE misappropriation of stamp duty and Titles Office fees count) two years of that count be served cumulatively upon the base sentence.
91 Accordingly, you are sentenced to a total effective term of 11 years’ imprisonment. Given your age and potential health problems, it is appropriate to fix a minimum period of eight years’ imprisonment before you are eligible for parole.
92 I declare pursuant to s 6AAA of the Sentencing Act that if it were not for your plea of guilty I would have fixed a total effective sentence of 13 years imprisonment with a non-parole period of 10 years’ imprisonment.
93 I direct that it be recorded that you were sentenced as a continuing criminal enterprise offender with respect to the continuing criminal enterprise offences identified in the Schedules.
94 I declare that you have spent 138 days in custody including the date of this sentence. I direct that this be noted in the Court’s records.
SCHEDULE A1:
WRONGFUL USE OF INVESTMENTS FUNDSCCE OFFENCES: Maximum sentence 20 years’ imprisonment
| COUNT | VICTIM | AMOUNT $ | SENTENCE |
| 10 | DAT Nominees P/L | 91,347.29 | 5 years |
| 20 | John Rodney Gillam | 55,000.00 | 5 years |
| 21 | John Rodney Gillam | 70,000.00 | 5 years |
| 25 | John Rodney Gillam | 87,568.56 | 5 years |
| 26 | John Rodney Gillam | 149,974.29 | 5 years |
| 30 | Raymond John Morell | 187,382.00 | 5 years |
| 34 | Raymond Morrell | 108,130.00 | 5 years |
| 35 | Raymond Morrell | 82,707.35 | 5 years |
| 36 | Monica Barrett | 70,000.00 | 5 years |
| 38 | Raymond Morrell | 139,697.50 | 5 years |
| 41 | Kevin Mitchell | 146,250.00 | 5 years |
| 42 | Kevin Mitchell | 274,585.62 | 5 years |
| 50 | James Ricchini | 70,288.22 | 5 years |
| 51 | Felicity Nolan | 205,872.00 | 5 years |
| 52 | Geoff Grigg | 90,000.00 | 5 years |
| 53 | Geoff Grigg | 91,238.36 | 5 years |
| 54 | Robert Barclay | 51,500.00 | 5 years |
| 56 | John Randall | 186,977.11 | 5 years |
| 57 | Susan Stante | 100,000.00 | 5 years |
| 59 | Cheryl Firth | 55,000.00 | 5 years |
| 61 | Geoff Grigg | 189,527.46 | 5 years |
| 62 | Carol Treharne | 126,293.94 | 5 years |
| 69 | Phillip Stringer | 130,000.00 | 5 years |
| 70 | Phillip Stringer | 70,000.00 | 5 years |
| 71 | Peter Kanelos | 133,908.17 | 5 years |
| 73 | James Ricchini | 330,099.43 | 5 years |
| 74 | John Randall | 186,600.00 | 5 years |
| 77 | Mevlida Dalipi | 100,000.00 | 5 years |
| 78 | John Randall | 193,088.07 | 5 years |
| 80 | Robert Spurling | 170,000.00 | 5 years |
| 83 | Robert Barclay | 71,197.47 | 5 years |
| 84 | Vilma Bereg | 173,784.59 | 5 years |
| 85 | Slobodan Bartulovic | 151,704.66 | 5 years |
| 86 | Stavro Dascarellos | 255,557.18 | 5 years |
| 87 | Paul Pavlak | 54,000.00 | 5 years |
| 91 | Paul Pavlak | 251,815.44 | 5 years |
| 95 | Amelia De Simone | 227,804.43 | 5 years |
| 100 | Raymond Wilson | 260,520.00 | 5 years |
| 102 | Allen Warren & Saffronfield P/L | 229,283.75 | 5 years |
| 105 | Allen Warren & Saffronfield P/L | 65,000.00 | 5 years |
| 106 | Allen Warren & Saffronfield P/L | 232,640.00 | 5 years |
| 113 | Melvida Dalipi | 100,545.30 | 5 years |
| 114 | Christine Thripp | 64,063.22 | 5 years |
| 119 | Victor Kazi Murat | 50,843.14 | 5 years |
| 126 | Joanne Di Cecco | 241,783.81 | 5 years |
| 134 | Slobodan Bartulovic | 111,384.35 | 5 years |
| 139 | Ronald Wilson | 68,589.91 | 5 years |
| 152 | Margaret Stapleton | 69,915.10 | 5 years |
| 153 | Kevin Mitchell | 93,565.98 | 5 years |
| 157 | Graeme Robinson | 125,853.00 | 5 years |
| 170 | Robert Spurling | 300,000.00 | 5 years |
| 175 | Risto Nova-Perdevski | 200,000.00 | 5 years |
| 176 | Margaret Stapleton | 82,556.10 | 5 years |
SCHEDULE A2:
WRONGFUL USE OF INVESTMENTS FUNDSNON CCE OFFENCES: Maximum sentence 10 years’ imprisonment
| COUNT | VICTIM | AMOUNT $ | SENTENCE |
| 3 | Monica Barrett | 33,225.00 | 2 years |
| 4 | Monica Barrett | 70,000.00 | 3 years |
| 9 | Dat Nominees P/L | 84,000.00 | 3 years |
| 11 | Diane Joy Challis | 100,000.00 | 3 years |
| 12 | Dat Nominees P/L | 140,000.00 | 3 years |
| 16 | Alan Morris Keily | 66,675.05 | 3 years |
| 22 | John Rodney Gillam | 40,000.00 | 2 years |
| 27 | Neville Shields (rolled up) | 71,940.78 | 3 years |
| 28 | John Rodney Gillam | 48,077.77 | 2 years |
| 31 | Graeme Tribe | 30,000.00 | 2 years |
| 33 | Raymond Morrell | 30,000.00 | 2 years |
| 39 | Kevin Mitchell | 17,124.18 | 2 years |
| 40 | Kevin Mitchell | 10,114.45 | 2 years |
| 58 | Felicity Nolan | 19,000.00 | 2 years |
| 60 | Geoffrey Richard Grigg | 5,000.00 | 2 years |
| 63 | Carol Treharne | 20,000.00 | 2 years |
| 67 | John Randall (rolled up) | 63,661.92 | 3 years |
| 79 | Phillip John Stringer | 20,000.00 | 2 years |
| 104 | Allen Warren & Saffronfield P/l | 35,000.00 | 2 years |
| 140 | Ronald Wilson | 32,000.00 | 2 years |
| 142 | Kevin Mitchell | 49,400.00 | 2 years |
| 156 | Graeme Robinson | 22,536.15 | 2 years |
| 177 | Graeme Tribe (rolled up) | 50,225.00 | 3 years |
| 179 | Raymond Wilson | 38,500.00 | 2 years |
SCHEDULE B1:
MISAPPROPRIATION OF SETTLEMENT MONEYSCCE OFFENCES: Maximum sentence 20 years’ imprisonment
| COUNT | VICTIM | AMOUNT $ | SENTENCE |
| 136 | Georgina Kucek | 167,250.92 | 5 years |
| 147 | Mavis Avery | 550,762.17 | 5 years |
| 148 | Russell Gray | 68,779.31 | 5 years |
| 165 | Manuella Lazarevic | 157,994.23 | 5 years |
| 168 | David Stonehouse | 221,428.00 | 5 years |
| 169 | Brian O’Brien | 176,921.00 | 5 years |
| 171 | Graeme Saddington | 210,695.34 | 5 years |
| 172 | Graeme Saddington | 54,616.31 | 5 years |
| 174 | Francis Edwards | 112,476.46 | 5 years |
SCHEDULE B2:
MISAPPROPRIATION OF SETTLEMENT MONEYSNON CCE OFFENCES: Maximum sentence 10 years’ imprisonment
| COUNT | VICTIM | AMOUNT $ | SENTENCE |
| 141 | Richard Speed | 14,480.00 | 2 years |
| 143 | Russell Gray | 23,896.00 | 2 years |
| 167 | David Stonehouse | 500.00 | 3 months |
| 173 | Graeme Saddington | 45,849.12 | 2 years |
SCHEDULE C1:
MISAPPROPRIATION OF STAMP DUTY AND TITLES OFFICE FEESCCE OFFENCES: Maximum sentence 20 years’ imprisonment
| COUNT | VICTIM | AMOUNT $ | SENTENCE |
| 115 | Edwin Dimmick | 62,320.00 | 2 years |
SCHEDULE C2:
MISAPPROPRIATION OF STAMP DUTY AND TITLES OFFICE FEESNON CCE OFFENCES: Maximum sentence 10 years’ imprisonment
| COUNT | VICTIM | AMOUNT $ | SENTENCE |
| 2 | Carole Larraine Cotter | 2,119.00 | 1 year |
| 7 | Allan Stewart | 4,098.00 | 1 year |
| 8 | Jayne Eleanor Burgess | 2,007.00 | 1 year |
| 13 | Karen & Rodney Boyle | 3,078.00 | 1 year |
| 14 | Lyndall Mourney | 2,578.00 | 1 year |
| 15 | Peter Yates | 2,140.00 | 1 year |
| 17 | Joseph Bukvasevic | 1,584.00 | 1 year |
| 18 | John Edward Evans | 5,182.00 | 1 year |
| 19 | William Stelling Rhodes | 2,996.00 | 1 year |
| 23 | David Peter De Wael | 7,567.00 | 1 year |
| 24 | Jesus Blanco | 7,960.00 | 1 year |
| 32 | Anne Arrowsmith & Christopher Smith | 3,070.00 | 1 year |
| 43 | Obrad Bozic | 6,583.00 | 1 year |
| 44 | Steven Rae & Megan Stoltz | 8,555.00 | 1 year |
| 45 | Tracey & Oliver & Robert Patten | 2,536.00 | 1 year |
| 46 | Alan & Marilyn Jones | 15,550.00 | 1 year |
| 47 | Ethel & Doug Price | 3,121.00 | 1 year |
| 48 | Ivan & Sinka Miletic | 4,932.00 | 1 year |
| 49 | Cheryl Firth | 2,730.00 | 1 year |
| 64 | Kim & Richard Pargeter | 1,769.00 | 1 year |
| 65 | Alan & Nanette Stewart | 13,677.00 | 1 year |
| 66 | Ivy & Thomas Hackett | 5,027.00 | 1 year |
| 68 | Josip Sobcic (rolled up) | 5,157.00 | 1 year |
| 72 | Lynette & Gary Lee | 8,242.00 | 1 year |
| 75 | Paul & Kathryn Anderson | 5,432.00 | 1 year |
| 76 | Letka Ristovski | 6,369.00 | 1 year |
| 81 | John Laszczuk | 6,961.00 | 1 year |
| 82 | Slavko & Maria Rava | 2,854.00 | 1 year |
| 88 | Benito & Heather Caruso | 5,744.00 | 1 year |
| 89 | Wayne Long and Julie Morison | 8,742.00 | 1 year |
| 90 | John & Shirley Knell | 6,868.00 | 1 year |
| 92 | Kay Lindsay | 3,133.00 | 1 year |
| 93 | Christine Cahill & Helga Treffke | 8,242.00 | 1 year |
| 94 | Frank & Karen Preiato | 6,596.00 | 1 year |
| 96 | Peter & Cheryl Paice | 7,630.00 | 1 year |
| 97 | Helen & Roger Cronk | 3,332.00 | 1 year |
| 98 | Dianne Kovacs & Frank Kovacs | 2,416.00 | 1 year |
| 99 | Rosemary Elizabeth Matthews (rolled up) | 5,336.00 | 1 year |
| 101 | Eilieen Hofsteteris | 9,544.00 | 1 year |
| 103 | Estelle Hughan | 6,193.00 | 1 year |
| 107 | Barbara & Bruce Graham | 12,840.00 | 1 year |
| 108 | Kenneth Bray | 7,346.00 | 1 year |
| 109 | Manfred Overlingas | 17,339.00 | 1 year |
| 110 | Joseph & Rosemary Jovic | 4,569.00 | 1 year |
| 111 | Belinda Lyle | 3,933.00 | 1 year |
| 112 | Barry Webber & Maree Morris | 2,866.00 | 1 year |
| 116 | Steven Riccardi (rolled up) | 33,291.00 | 1 year |
| 117 | Katherine Young | 9,221.00 | 1 year |
| 118 | Gerhard Pietersen | 3,422.00 | 1 year |
| 120 | Linda & Angelo La Spada | 8,407.00 | 1 year |
| 124 | Allan & Phyllis Nicholson | 5,277.00 | 1 year |
| 125 | Richard Sobczyk | 714.00 | 1 year |
| 127 | John Holcombe | 1,947.00 | 1 year |
| 128 | Stanko Javanovic | 4,525.00 | 1 year |
| 129 | Ronald & Anne Carrol | 21,399.00 | 1 year |
| 130 | Marjorie & David Manovski | 8,282.00 | 1 year |
| 131 | Wilfred Tonkin | 6,908.00 | 1 year |
| 132 | Douglas Showell | 9,657.00 | 1 year |
| 133 | Gregory & Valerie Smart | 2,245.00 | 1 year |
| 135 | Dorothy & Francis Costa | 8,555.00 | 1 year |
| 138 | David McPherson | 13,217.00 | 1 year |
| 144 | Glenn Benstead | 10,469.00 | 1 year |
| 145 | Edwin Dimmick | 16,402.00 | 1 year |
| 146 | Robert & Diane Napier | 8,220.00 | 1 year |
| 149 | Andrew Stawyskyj | 6,409.00 | 1 year |
| 150 | Reginald McAllister | 41,360.00 | 1 year |
| 151 | John & Paula Kelly | 7,555.00 | 1 year |
| 154 | Ross Altmann & Faye Altmann | 13,989.00 | 1 year |
| 158 | Ana & Nikola Marin | 14,154.00 | 1 year |
| 159 | Henry & Robyn Davies | 5,799.00 | 1 year |
| 160 | Robert & Christine Leece | 24,482.00 | 1 year |
| 161 | Giuseppina Casado | 19,798.00 | 1 year |
| 162 | Stuart Beynon | 5,600.80 | 1 year |
| 164 | Lesley & Travis Bourke | 3,620.00 | 1 year |
| 166 | Manuella Lazarevic | 7,300.00 | 1 year |
| 178 | Coral Turner | 13,974.00 | 1 year |
| 180 | Pamela Willcox | 23,857.00 | 1 year |
| 181 | Alan Martin | 10,128.00 | 1 year |
| 182 | Richard Sobczyk | 714.00 | 1 year |
SCHEDULE D1:
DELAYED SETTLEMENTS – MISREPRESENTATIONS TO VENDORSCCE OFFENCES: Maximum sentence 10 years’ imprisonment
| COUNT | VICTIM | AMOUNT $ | SENTENCE |
| 55 | Suncorp Metway/Felicity Nolan | 63,079.93 | 6 months |
| 121 | Urban Creek Pty Ltd/Rajenda Vikash | 103,862.50 | 6 months |
| 122 | Urban Creek Pty Ltd/Rajenda Vikash | 104,889.50 | 6 months |
| 155 | Alan Martin | 217,785.50 | 6 months |
| 163 | Christian Brothers Property Victoria Pty Ltd/Stuart Beynon | 151,099.20 | 6 months |
SCHEDULE D2:
DELAYED SETTLEMENTSNON-CCE OFFENCES: Maximum sentence 10 years’ imprisonment
| COUNT | VICTIM | AMOUNT $ | SENTENCE |
| 123 | Georgina Kucek | 17,300.00 | 3 months |
| 137 (rolled up) | Georgina Kucek | 29,474.41 | 3 months |
SCHEDULE E:
FORGED DOCUMENTS
| COUNT | VICTIM | SENTENCE |
| 5 | Schedule attached | 2 years |
| 6 | Schedule attached | 2 years |
ANNEXURE TO SCHEDULE E:
FORGED DOCUMENTS
| COUNT | DATE | NAME | DOCUMENT |
| 5 | 3 June 1996 | Geoffrey Howard | Mortgage |
| 3 June 1996 | John Bouwesster | Discharge of mortgage | |
| 21 July 1997 | Deborah, Lisa and Garry Mitchell | Mortgage | |
| 14 August 1998 | Deborah, Lisa and Garry Mitchell | Mortgage | |
| 21 August 1998 | David Shaw | Mortgage | |
| 31 August 1998 | John Gillam | Mortgage | |
| 10 February 1999 | G & W Tribe & L. Jacobson | Mortgage | |
| 21 July 1999 | Kevin Mitchell | Mortgage | |
| 4 April 2000 | Mitchellmoore Nominees P/L from Burrough | Transfer of Land | |
| 25 June 2000 | Kevin & Rosemary Russell | Mortgage | |
| 16 August 2000 | Robert Spurling | Mortgage | |
| 16 August 2000 | Robert Spurling | Mortgage | |
| 25 June 2000 | Terrence Halmshaw & Christine Dye | Mortgage | |
| 1 November 2000 | Felicity Nolan | Letter | |
| 29 December 2000 | Mitchellmoore Nominees P/L (Kevin & Mary Mitchell) | Mortgage | |
| 29 December 2000 | Mitchellmoore Nominees P/L (Kevin & Mary Mitchell) | Mortgage | |
| 11 October 2001 | Felicity Nolan/Suncorp Metway Ltd | Authority | |
| 15 November 2001 | Mitchellmoore Nominees P/L | Mortgage | |
| 1 January 2002 | Mitchellmoore Nominees P/L | Mortgage | |
| 9 December 2002 | Dat Nominees P/L (Douglas Thompson) | Discharge of Mortgage | |
| 18 December 2002 | Dat Nominees P/L (Douglas Thompson) | Discharge of Mortgage | |
| 21 December 2002 | Dat Nominees P/L (Douglas Thompson) | Discharge of Mortgage | |
| 2 January 2003 | Brian & Beverly Bean | Discharge of Mortgage | |
| 6 | 14 October 1996 | Geoffrey Howard | Mortgage |
| 20 October 1997 | John Bouwesster | Discharge of Mortgage | |
| 2 September 1997 | Deborah, Lisa & Garry Mitchell | Mortgage | |
| 9 September 1998 | Deborah, Lisa & Garry Mitchell | Mortgage | |
| 9 September 1998 | David Shaw | Mortgage | |
| 9 September 1998 | John Gillam | Mortgage | |
| 10 February 1999 | G & W Tribe & L Jacobson | Mortgage | |
| 21 July 1999 | Kevin Mitchell | Mortgage | |
| 30 May 2000 | Mitchellmoore Nominees P/L from Burrough | Transfer of Land | |
| 25 June 2000 | Terrence Halmshaw & Christine Dye | Mortgage | |
| 25 June 2000 | Kevin & Rosemary Russell | Mortgage | |
| 16 August 2000 | Robert Spurling | Mortgage | |
| 29 December 2000 | Mitchellmoore Nominees P/L (Kevin & Mary Mitchell) | Mortgage | |
| 29 December 2000 | Mitchellmoore Nominees P/L (Kevin & Mary Mitchell) | Mortgage | |
| 28 June 2001 | Felicity Nolan/Suncorp Metway Ltd | Letter | |
| 11 October 2001 | Felicity Nolan/Suncorp Metway Ltd | Authority | |
| 15 November 2001 | Mitchellmoore Nominees P/L | Mortgage | |
| 1 January 2002 | Mitchellmoore Nominees P/L | Mortgage | |
| 2 January 2003 | Brian & Beverley Bean | Discharge of mortgage | |
| 2 January 2003 | Dat Nominees P/L | Discharge of mortgage | |
| 17 January 2003 | Dat Nominees P/L | Discharge of mortgage | |
| 23 January 2003 | Dat Nominees P/L | Discharge of mortgage |
SCHEDULE F:
THEFT BY TAKING PERSONAL DRAWINGS FROM TRUST ACCOUNTS COUNTS
| COUNT | SENTENCE |
| 29 | 3 years |
| 37 | 3 years |
SCHEDULE G:
ROLLED UP COUNT
INVESTMENTS FUNDS STAMP DUTY AND TITLES OFFICE FEES
| COUNT | VICTIM | AMOUNT $ | SENTENCE |
| 1 | William Dillon | 112,375.00 | 5 years |
SCHEDULE H:
FAIR TRADING ACT OFFENCES
| COUNT | VICTIM | SENTENCE |
| 1 | Edwin Dimmick | Convicted – no penalty |
| 2 | Frank and Karen Preiato | Convicted – no penalty |
| 3 | Tonaelen P/L | Convicted – no penalty |
| 4 | Vicki Maree Tannahill | Convicted and fined $1,000 |
| 5 | Melanie King & Darcy Braeder | Convicted and fined $1,000 |
| 6 | Braener Pty Ltd | Convicted and fined $1,000 |
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