ICAC finds corrupt conduct in $1-million scheme concerning Awabakal LALC land
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has found former assistant tax commissioner Nick Petroulias engaged in corrupt conduct by masterminding bogus property deals to sell off more than $12 million worth of Aboriginal land near Newcastle.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the corruption watchdog found Petroulias stole the identity of a dead person to conceal his involvement in the transactions.
The ICAC also made corruption findings against two directors of the Awabakal Local Aboriginal Land Council, Debbie Dates and Richard Green, and Petroulias’ long time partner, Despina Bakis.
The ICAC recommended the Director of Public Prosecutions should consider charging Petroulias and Bakis with fraud, aiding and abetting misconduct in public office and conspiracy to defraud.
It also recommended potential charges against Petroulias for corruptly receiving commissions and Bakis with aiding and abetting the receiving of those commissions.
The ICAC first announced the public inquiry in March 2018, six months after a special investigation by the Newcastle Herald shone a spotlight on the intricate web of property dealings.
FULL STORY: The Sydney Morning Herald.
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It’s the same guy: the PR guy, the Murdoch scribe and the bouncer at the weapons fair!
The man appeared before the Perth Magistrates Court today (7 October 2022) and was remanded in custody to reappear on 11 October (2022).
He has been charged with dealing in the proceeds of crime to the value of $1,000,000 or more, contrary to section 400.3(1) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth).
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Washington Post: “Brace for a potential midterm meltdown in your inbox. Emails from certain federal candidates, parties and political action committees will soon be allowed to bypass the spam filters on Gmail and go straight into your inbox. To banish them, you’ll need to click a new unsubscribe button on each and every sender. (I’ll show you how in this video.) Google says it’s a pilot program — so far, not being used by any other email providers — to surface campaign emails that some people might want to see. But this plan is outrageously hostile to the majority of us, who could be forced to dig through a lot more political spam.
Who even asked for this? Why, politicians, of course. Democracy depends on a free flow of information. But in our inboxes and on our phones, democracy is becoming annoying — and dangerous. We the users don’t want to be overwhelmed by unwanted political emails, text messages and robocalls — nor do we want to be targeted with misinformation and misleading fundraising appeals. Google’s plan to help politicians spam you gives us an opportunity to rethink what’s gone awry about campaigning online. “The spam finds its way into my inbox, too,” said Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub (D) of the Federal Election Commission, who helps police America’s campaigns.
“The politicians who write the rules have exempted themselves from a lot of the rules that could apply,” she told me. How do we fight back? Rather than give politicians special end runs to our attention, we need to find ways to make politicians more accountable for how they treat our inboxes and our data — and what they say in direct communications with us…”
Political spam is out of control. Now Gmail is about to make it worse Washington Post
Fraud cases are the tip of the iceberg
White-collar crime is back in the news thanks to the coroner’s inquiry into the death of financial fraudster Melissa Caddick and the trial of Helen Rosamond, who allegedly inflated tens of millions of dollars of invoices sent to National Australia Bank.
The cases have put the spotlight on fraud perpetrated on innocent victims such as the financial planning clients of Caddick, and fraud committed by people working at large companies.
Rosamond allegedly worked closely with Rosemary Rogers, NAB’s former chief of staff to CEOs Cameron Clyne and Andrew Thorburn. Rogers was sentenced to eight years in jail in 2019 for being an agent corruptly receiving a benefit.
White-collar crime is, more often than not, committed by gambling addicts. David Rowe
Rosamond was charged with false invoices totalling $15 million over four years. But over that period she submitted invoices to NAB totalling $35 million. Over a period of 12 years Rosamond’s company submitted invoices to NAB totalling $118 million.
The high-profile cases involving Caddick, Rosamond and Rogers could give the impression that police have financial crime under control.
But forensic accountants with more than 60 years of combined experience in this murky space say that convictions for fraud, especially inside jobs, are just the tip of the iceberg.
Brett Warfield, principal of Warfield & Associates, this week released a report analysing 102 fraud cases which resulted in convictions in the 10 years to August this year.
Forensic accountant Brett Warfield says fraudsters keeping using the same old techniques.
To be included in the research, the fraud had to be more than $1 million, resulted in a criminal conviction, and be perpetrated by an employee or employees.
Warfield says that after 30 years tracking white-collar criminals, he is staggered by how naive large public companies are about the techniques used by employees to steal money.
“I’ve seen the same thing, the same patterns happen over and over again,” he says. “For example, false invoicing is still being done in the millions of dollars in organisations, even though I have been reporting on that for decades.”
Warfield is amazed that senior people within organisations with the ability to sign off on significant invoices are often left to their own devices. He says those meant to be checking signatures and managing budgets have a tick-the-box mentality.
One of the most common crimes is electronic fund transfers, whereby finance staff transfer significant amounts out of company bank accounts and into their own accounts, or to people who are close to them.
“That is fundamentally flawed,” he says. “How is it possible for a finance clerk to change bank account details, and establish a credit in a system? Who is reviewing payment processes? It just shouldn’t happen.”
Track record of fraud
A good case study is Loretta Delianov, a former payroll officer at Anthony Pratt’s Visy. She stole $4.1 million over a six-year period. On 220 occasions she transferred amounts from Visy’s bank account to various accounts related to her.
She was diligent in creating fraudulent documentation for each unauthorised transaction, and used false names. She bought a Pie Face franchise, invested in properties, made payments to relatives, and entertained friends.
What is interesting about the Delianov case is she committed two acts of fraud at previous employers. Visy clearly did not pay for a criminal record check. She was sentenced to six years in jail.
One of the most disturbing features of the Warfield report on fraud convictions over the past decade is that 39 had gambling addictions.
When it came to convicting these people, Warfield said prosecutors were able to go back to the pubs, clubs and casinos to find the exact amounts of stolen money pumped through poker machines, if this was the preferred punting method.
I know of several strong fraud matters that police have not prosecuted ... The investigations were done at [the corporate clients’] expense.
Warfield says the financial services sector was hit heavily by frauds, accounting for about $48 million of the $350 million stolen by the 102 people convicted.
He says risk assessment is weak in financial institutions.
“I did some work recently where I actually presented to a bank, and afterwards we were having a drink and the guys were telling me, ‘We just don’t really pay attention to employee fraud in the bank because the external fraud is so big’.”
Another forensic accountant with 30 years experience says the problem he has found is that serious fraud matters reported to police are not being investigated.
“We are compelled to report matters to the police under the Crimes Act, but there was no interest,” he says.
“I know of several strong fraud matters that police have not prosecuted. These were matters I have investigated on behalf of corporate clients. The investigations were done at their own expense.”
“This begs the question, and I hear it a lot from corporate clients, ‘Why is there so little traction from the police?’ I wonder if this is due to lack of police resources or lack of capability. I suspect it’s the latter.”
The accountant said he knew of a fraud case involving a young woman who stole about $450,000 using her company issued credit card on first class flights, luxury goods and groceries. She fled to the UK.
The police were told but did nothing. He says that, at the very least, the police should have issued a warrant for her arrest so that if she ever returns to Australia she will have to face the music.
Another example of someone getting away with fraud was a person who worked as an executive assistant to a member of the executive committee at the ASX. She was dismissed three years ago after rorting the expense system.
The ASX told Chanticleer in a statement the matter involved breaches of ASX policies regarding “financial conduct”.
“The former employee cooperated with ASX’s investigation, admitted to having breached the policies, and ASX concluded that termination was an appropriate course of action in view of the very small amounts involved,” an ASX spokesman said.
The ASX board of directors was informed of the “financial misconduct”, but not the police.
It is worth noting Caddick’s career as a fraudster started with forging cheques in the office of a Sydney fund manager. She was sacked without the police being told, and then went on to conduct larger frauds.
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New York Times, For Suburban Texas Men, a Workout Craze With a Side of Faith:
By day, Glenn Ayala is a 50-something account manager who spends much of his time behind a desk. But at Rick Rice Park in the early morning darkness, doing push-ups and jogging with a 20-pound rucksack on his back, he is known as K9, and he is with his people.
One Friday in August, Mr. Ayala joined about 20 other men in what they called the predawn “gloom” for the group’s regular workout. They grunted and hooted un-self-consciously, razzing one another and shouting encouragements, using nicknames generated by the group. (Mr. Ayala got his because he trains dogs in his spare time.)
The members also often gather to pray together and talk, building friendships that have extended into their daily lives: When Mr. Ayala separated from his wife, members of the group helped him move. When his relationship with his adult son floundered, they texted him Garth Brooks songs to buoy him.
This is F3 — that’s fitness, fellowship and faith — a fast-growing network of men’s workouts that combine exercise with spiritually inflected camaraderie. After its founding in 2011 as a free, outdoor group workout, its popularity exploded during the pandemic, expanding to some 3,400 groups across the country from 1,900, aiming to solve, as John Lambert, a.k.a. Slaughter, the network’s chief executive, put it, “a problem that society at large and men definitely didn’t even know they had: middle-age male loneliness.” ...
I first heard about F3 through a few acquaintances in Texas, men who spoke about their local groups with the zeal of evangelists. It reminded me of how urban women used to talk with me about SoulCycle, only these guys were suburban fathers.
Its no-frills formula inspires fervent devotion. “F3 has changed my life,” Mr. Ayala said. He first attended last year, when a friend repeatedly nudged him to try it — or in F3’s baroque jargon, put him in an “emotional headlock.” He was hooked immediately. About a year ago, he got an F3 tattoo on his chest. ...
In F3, there are no facilities, no formal gear and no membership fees. Popular in the South, where outdoor workouts are pleasant most months of the year, the groups are ostensibly nonsectarian, in the style of Alcoholics Anonymous, though many have a Christian emphasis. Some men describe the group as complementing and expanding on their experiences in church.
F3 is also the rare setting devoted to male bonding. It means you “have guys to do life with,” said Pastor Giraud, a.k.a. Baby Shark, who works out with Mr. Ayala. “To really care for others and be cared for, to acknowledge others and be acknowledged.” ,,,
Many F3 men want to be traditionally strong providers, but also be more active and attentive in their family lives than their own fathers were.
David French (The Dispatch), A Short Story of Men:
Have you heard of a group called “F3”? I confess that I hadn’t. At least not until Saturday morning, when I read this outstanding Ruth Graham report in the New York Times. The group’s name is short for “fitness, fellowship, and faith.” The goal is ambitious. John Lambert, the group’s CEO, told Ruth that the aim is nothing less than solving “middle-age male loneliness.”
The concept is simple. Get a group of men together in the “predawn gloom,” get them to push themselves and each other in a series of grueling workouts, and then join in fellowship to talk and sometimes pray. It seems to work. The group was founded in 2011, and there are now 3,400 chapters across the country, and many of its members credit the group with changing their lives.
Ruth’s story communicates a central theme: The workouts are important, but the relationships are transformative. Friendship matters, and here is a place where thousands of men are finding friends.
The more I think about the challenges afflicting America’s men and boys, the less I think about ideology and the more I think about technology. While left and right fight furiously over who’s to blame for the fact that young men are falling behind in school, men are overwhelmingly more likely to die of despair, and men are suffering a crisis of loneliness and friendlessness, we’re neglecting the most mundane and powerful of explanations—the world changed, and men have been struggling to adapt ever since. ...
What does all this mean for men? In the times before the combination of the industrial and information revolutions, men didn’t just possess a clear default purpose (builder, protector, and provider), they also had a clear path to forming meaningful friendships. Demanding male work created spaces for rich male relationships.
As men confront this new world, it thus should not surprise us that many are experiencing both a crisis of purpose and a crisis of relationships. In his outstanding new book Of Boys and Men, Brookings Institute senior fellow Richard Reeves documents these immense social and economic changes more effectively than anyone I’ve read, and he does something else truly important—he argues that our ideological wars over masculinity are making everything worse. ...
This Saturday Night Live skit is sad and funny, in part because it’s describing something real:
That which was once more natural now has to become more intentional. Families that once stayed together out of necessity must now stay together out of choice. Male friendships that once formed as the natural result of the proliferation of exclusively male spaces now often require deliberate cultivation.
That’s where groups like F3 can change lives. Not many men will be on a football team, and football teams are fleeting. Not many men will be in an infantry platoon, and that life is temporary as well. But men can still choose to gather together and bond through shared experience and hardship. ...
What is the short story of modern men? Life has changed forever. Ideologues pull men and boys into destructive and unsustainable extremes. Yet virtuous purpose can still be found in the fundamental building blocks of the good life. Only a man can be a husband, only a man can be a father, and men need male friends. If a man can fill those roles with integrity and courage, then doubts about his masculinity should not ever darken his heart.
Richard Reeves (Brookings Institution), Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do about It (Sept. 27, 2022):
Boys and men are struggling. Profound economic and social changes of recent decades have many losing ground in the classroom, the workplace, and in the family. While the lives of women have changed, the lives of many men have remained the same or even worsened.
Our attitudes, our institutions, and our laws have failed to keep up. Conservative and progressive politicians, mired in their own ideological warfare, fail to provide thoughtful solutions.
The father of three sons, a journalist, and a Brookings Institution scholar, Richard V. Reeves has spent twenty-five years worrying about boys both at home and work. His new book, Of Boys and Men, tackles the complex and urgent crisis of boyhood and manhood.
Reeves looks at the structural challenges that face boys and men and offers fresh and innovative solutions that turn the page on the corrosive narrative that plagues this issue. Of Boys and Men argues that helping the other half of society does not mean giving up on the ideal of gender equality.
Speaks to our hearts as well as our heads. A powerful and important book.
—Jonathan Haidt, Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership, New York University—Stern School of Business
Finally, an analysis of the crisis among men and boys that adds more light than heat. Richard Reeves takes on the issues facing males today with courage and compassion, and offers solutions that are both workable and agreeable across the political spectrum. A much-needed book.
—Arthur Brooks, Professor, Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School, and #1 New York Times bestselling author
Real, practical, solutions to create a world that would be better for all of us, across the gender spectrum.
— Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO, New America and author of Unfinished Business: Women Men Work Family
Judicious and meticulously researched. Instead of blaming men for their predicament, or pathologizing masculinity, Reeves points to sensible, humane and practical solutions.
—Christina Hoff Sommers, Senior Fellow Emeritus, American Enterprise Institute, author of The War on Boys
An authoritative overview of the problems faced by boys and men—and most importantly, bold ideas to solve them.
—Andrew Yang
In this courageous, compelling, and urgently needed book, Reeves argues for dispensing with the damaging narrative of 'toxic' masculinity, and offers concrete suggestions for how to support boys and men.
—Carole Hooven, Harvard University and author of Testosterone: The Story of the Hormone that Dominates and Divides Us
Important, timely, well-balanced and thoroughly researched, Of Boys and Men effectively outlines the rapid economic, psychological, social and educational decline of males in our society and proposes practical policies that offer a positive masculinity for our sons, brothers and fathers.
—Joe Henrich, Harvard University and author of The WEIRDest People in the World
Richard Reeves has the rare combination of writerly flair, analytical skill, and unflinching focus on problems that partisans would rather dismiss. Just as Dream Hoarders forced Americans to question our mantras about social mobility, his work on men and boys is provocative, timely, and rich with real-world solutions.
—Evan Osnos, The New Yorker and author of Wildland: The Making of America's Fury
