Month: January 2012

The corruption watchdog will hold an inquiry into allegations of corrupt conduct at the University of New England (UNE).

Colin McCallum, campus services manager at UNE in northern New South Wales, is alleged to have corruptly solicited university contracts over a seven-year period.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) will investigate his alleged approval of false invoices submitted between December 2004 and April 2011.

The invoices were from a number of companies, including commercial cleaning contractor Quad Services, Sydney Night Patrol and Inquiry and Prosys Services.

ICAC will also investigate whether, between July and December 2010, Mr McCallum gave false and misleading information to his colleagues after corruptly arranging payment for the hire of UNE sports facilities for use by New England Rugby Union.

Public hearings will be heard before ICAC Assistant Commissioner Theresa Hamilton from January 23.

In a statement, the UNE later said it had referred the matter to ICAC for investigation.

“UNE will continue to fully co-operate with ICAC throughout their investigation and the forthcoming public inquiry” it said.

Source:  AAP, 16/1/12

One of Australia’s former leading art dealers, Ronald Coles, faces up to 10 years in jail after being charged today with 87 offences relating to an alleged multi-million investment art fraud scheme.

Coles, 64, was ordered to appear at Gosford Police Station today (10am), where Fraud Squad detectives formally charged him following an “extremely protracted and legally intricate” two-year investigation into his business affairs.

Under the Crimes Act, Coles was charged with 77 counts of “larceny as a bailee” and a further 10 counts of “director/officer cheat or defraud”.

For more than 30 years, Coles specialised in fine art by some of Australia’s most celebrated artists including Sir Arthur Streeton, Eugene von Guerard, Brett Whiteley and Norman Lyndsay.

Advertising on national radio and television, he offered clients an opportunity to boost their lifesavings through the purchase of investment art which he bought and sold on their behalf, using their superannuation funds.

NSW Police launched Strike Force Glasson in January 2009 after a Fairfax investigation unearthed dozens of investors who were missing millions of dollars in lost art and money, all allegedly retained by Coles.

Today’s police charges relate to more than $8 million in financial loss to a total 43 clients nationwide.

Coles’ failed to make conditional bail of $50,000. It is understood he offered a car and paintings as surety but it was refused. He is due to appear at Gosford Local Court shortly.

(Source: Eamonn Duff, SMH, 16/1/2011)

Facebook flirting and comments contribute to an increasing number of divorces, underscoring how social media is affecting privacy and family interactions.

One-third of 2011 divorce cases in England implicated Facebook as a cause, according to a survey conducted by a U.K.-based divorce website. The 5,000 people polled cited three reasons for listing Facebook in divorce petitions, including sending inappropriate messages to the opposite sex, posting negative comments about exes on the social network, and friends disclosing a spouse’s behaviour.

The survey highlights how burgeoning social media use blurs the line between public and private. The nature of Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and other social media outlets encourages free-spirited commenting, posting and sharing of information.

However, what’s posted on social networking sites may not be as private as users think.

When marital problems or other difficulties arise, social media postings are subject to closer and wider scrutiny and take on a new life, often as evidence in custody battles and divorce cases. For example, a Connecticut judge ruled one couple must share social media passwords as part of their divorce agreement, leading to speculation about how and by whom the photos, comments and personal information people share can be used.

Legal experts assert as social media sites grow in popularity, people must be vigilant about what they post and refrain from making disparaging remarks or gossiping with friends about a spouse, children or other parties in a case.

“People need to be careful what they write on their walls, as the courts are seeing these posts being used in financial disputes and children cases as evidence” said Mark Keenan, a spokesman for Divorce-Online.

Divorce cases aren’t the only personal legal matters involving social media postings. Apple recently fired an employee who ranted about his job on Facebook, and termination procedures were launched against a New Jersey teacher who called her students “future criminals” on the social network.

Incidents like these could lead users to edit what they do and say on sites out of fear of future recrimination, or even pull away from them altogether, an unwelcome trend for companies like Facebook and Google.

In response, both Facebook and Google+ strengthened privacy controls in recent months to help users feel more secure. Facebook’s “smart lists” and Google+’s “circles” features allow users to more tightly control who can see and share their posts and comments.

Site-based privacy controls can help protect users during normal, day-to-day interactions, but during a personal upheaval like a divorce, a list of trusted “friends” may suddenly turn out not to be so trustworthy, highlighting a need for increased user responsibility alongside better privacy protections.

(Source: Forbes.com, 3/01/2012)

About Rushmore Forensic

Andrew Firth is a director of Rushmore Group. He has conducted numerous investigations, business valuations and other forensic accounting engagements in Australia, Singapore, the UK, Thailand, Hong Kong, Vanuatu, and the USA.

He specialises in assisting people going through divorce and provides other forensic accounting services for commercial disputes.  He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and has appeared as an Expert Witness in numerous jurisdictions. For more information or to arrange an appointment, please contact us or call now on 1800 454 622.