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A pre-insolvency adviser has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to one charge of dealing in the proceeds of crime.
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4.5 years jail for money laundering pre-insolvency adviser
14 November 2019
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The Brisbane District Court has now sentenced former pre-insolvency adviser John Narramore to four and a half years in prison, with a non-parole period of 20 months, after pleading guilty to money laundering.
In October 2014, Mr Narramore, along with Stephen O’Neill of SMEs R Us, advised Richard Ludwig, a former director of Cap Coast Telecoms Pty Ltd, to engage in activity that would involve the illegal removal of company assets to prevent creditors from having access to these assets.
Both men advised Mr Ludwig about an asset protection strategy that would involve the illegal removal of company assets so as to prevent creditors from having access to those assets.
Mr Narramore and Mr O’Neill issued fictitious invoices from companies under their control to Cap Coast Telecoms and arranged for $743,050 to be transferred from Cap Coast Telecoms bank accounts to the bank accounts of companies under their control.
They then transferred the funds to Ludwig or his associates.
Once funds had been transferred by Mr Narramore and Mr O’Neill, Cap Coast Telecoms was wound up on 19 January 2019. At the time, it owed creditors $2,955,128.
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In delivering the sentence, Judge Everson found that Mr Narramore’s conduct was a serious example of money laundering, a sophisticated scheme, involving a significant amount of money and motivated by financial gain.
Mr O’Neill has pleaded guilty to one breach of the Criminal Code 1995 for dealing in proceeds of crime worth $100,000 or more. The matter has been listed for sentence on 27 February 2020.
Mr Ludwig was charged with one count of intentionally dealing in proceeds of crime and 10 counts of breaching his directors’ duties. He is yet to enter a plea and is due to appear in the Brisbane District Court on 9 December 2019.
Following sentencing, ASIC commissioner John Price emphasised ASIC’s commitment to ensuring creditors have access to company assets during insolvency proceedings.
“ASIC condemns any money laundering by individuals. When a company is about to be wound up, creditors should be entitled to access the assets as a means to being paid what is owed to them,” Mr Price said.
The matter was referred to ASIC through an unfunded supplementary report by the liquidator of Cap Coast Telecoms, Mark Hutchins of Cor Cordis.
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