Father and daughter accountants get jail
An accountant and his daughter have been sentenced to jail by the County Court of Victoria after being found guilty of intending to permanently deprive their clients of more than $800,000.
Douglas Gordon Johnston, an accountant from Cranbourne, Victoria, was sentenced to four years and nine months jail, to serve a minimum of three years and six months after being convicted of 26 charges.
His daugher, Fiona Johnston, received a six months jail sentence which was suspended on her agreeing to a good behaviour bond of two years and a fine of $500, after pleading guilty to one charge of making improper use of her position as a director of her and her father’s accounting practice, Greenacres Management.
The two were charged following an investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).
Between September 19, 1997 and May 3, 1999, Douglas Johnston obtained $843,416 from clients of Cranbourne Park Accounting Services with the intention of permanently depriving them of their funds. He pleaded guilty to 15 charges relating to this allegation of which 12 related to obtaining property by deception and two of knowingly making improper use of his position to gain an advantage, as well as one charge under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act in acting as a trustee while disqualified.
He also faced four more charges relating to a conviction in September 2002 of obtaining property by deception, in connection with the $843,416, after a two-and-a-half week jury trial in the County Court.
Douglas Johnston also pleaded guilty to six counts of misappropriating $264,000 from clients, and one charge of offering securities for subscription when a prospectus had not been lodged and registered by ASIC, in relation to his involvement in the management of Terranial Corporation.
The watchdog says after it took action to have a receiver appointed to Greenacres, Johnston incorporated Terranial in Sydney and used cash flows from this business for his own purposes, while on bail for the offences relating to Greenacres.
AUTHOR
Lachlan Gilbert
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