Clever Sandgropers

They’ve always been an entrepreneurial lot in the West, especially gifted at separating the fool and his money. This perception has been reinforced by Pierpont’s dubious distinction awards for 2004.

Following in the footsteps of the fellow who successfully claimed the stolen proceeds of drug sales as a tax deduction is the;

Tax Expert of the Year. To the prisoner in Perth’s Casuarina jail who helped inmates fill out their tax returns. Even though the prisoners were all inside for the year, he managed to claim $1.8 million in work related expenses for them.

And a lawyer who proves that, contrary to what ASIC would have the business community believe (i.e. that they have some idea of what is happening in the real world), it remains possible to create paper companies with ‘ghost’ directors sufficient to fool finance companies;

Big Spender of the Year. To Peppermint Grove lawyer Rohan Skea. The report by the provisional liquidators to his private companies in April revealed Skea had a private company with fictitious directors that raised more than $17 million from finance companies to support a lavish lifestyle. Skea’s assets included a winery, lodge and equestrian property, a Peppermint Grove mansion, 13 Porsches, 6 Bentleys, 26 horses and 2 luxury boats. Not to mention 163 paintings and an ultralight plane. Despite all these assets, his deficiency was estimated at $20 million.