Troy Stephen Bell accused of stealing independent Learning Centre funds to pay for home renovations

Troy Bell has appeared in an Adelaide court accused of stealing funds from a not-for-profit he was running when he was a teacher.

SA MP Troy Stephen Bell stole funds from a not-for-profit organisation he was running during his former career as a teacher to pay off his debts and fund his home renovations, a court has heard.

Mr Bell, 50, is standing trial in the District Court after pleading not guilty to 20 counts of theft and six counts of dishonest dealings with documents.

In her opening address on Tuesday, Prosecutor Jemma Litster said Mr Bell abused his position of power to steal funds from the not-for-profit independent Learning Centre (ILC) — an organisation to encourage at-risk and disadvantaged children to further their education — between 2009 and 2013.

“It is the prosecution case that Mr Bell was socially able, and he was well-liked,” she said.

“He was a man who was trusted in his professional and social circles in Mount Gambier.

“It’s the prosecution case he abused that trust.

“The view people held of him from the outside looking in, was one of the factors his fraud went on unnoticed for quite some time.”

Ms Litster said Mr Bell, a former teacher, was working for the Department of Education in their South East office, when he helped establish the ILC in 2006, which was based off Millicent High School and two not-for-profit associations.

“It’s alleged that those funds he stole were those that were intended to be used for the purposes of not-for-profit associations in the South East,” she said.

“The first of those was called the South East Education and Training Association, referred to as SEETA, the second, the Limestone Coast Education and Training Association, referred to as LCETA.”

Ms Litster said the ILC was established to assist children who had “become disengaged with mainstream schooling and who had returned, through the centre, in order to give them opportunities to obtain their SACE or other qualifications.

“On the prosecution case, the funds which Mr Bell stole, were the funds which in many cases were deposited or transferred into accounts he personally had set up.

“He had received those moneys into those bank accounts on behalf of those not-for-profit associations.”

Ms Litster said the prosecution alleges Mr Bell then transferred funds to a joint account with his wife without the permission of the not-for-profits – with the alleged motivation being him becoming “increasingly financially ambitious”.

“Mr Bell was becoming increasingly financially ambitious at around this time,” she said.

“In particular, Mr Bell had taken on significant debt, in the form of bank loans to finance property developments, at various addresses in Mt Gambier.

“As well as the purchase and refurbishment of the Bell family home.

Troy Bell leaving Adelaide District Court. Picture: NewsWire / Roy VanDerVegt

“You’ll hear evidence in the trial that Mr Bell was moving funds consistently between his loan and personal accounts.”

Ms Litster said on July 4, 2009 credit card debts put another account belonging to Mr and Ms Bell in overdraft in the amount of $4984.61.

“On the prosecution case, despite this set of circumstances, on the 4th of July 2009, a purchase from a credit card linked to Mr Bell’s wife purchased items valued at $2483.33 from Flight Centre Adelaide on Rundle St,” she said.

“You’ll hear in the evidence that Mr and Mrs Bell subsequently flew to Los Angeles about three months later on the 2nd of October 2009.

“Five days after that purchase from, on the prosecution case, was Flight Centre Adelaide was an electronic transfer of $4000 from (one of the not-for-profit accounts) into Mr and Mrs Bell’s joint account.”

Ms Litster said the home renovations were invoiced to cost $200,000 with five progress payments worth $40,000.

Ms Litster said Mr Bell resigned from the department in 2013 before embarking on a career as a politician.

“He resigned from the Department (of Education) to embark upon a career in politics as an MP,” she said.

A jury of 15 people were empanelled on Monday and will hear evidence for up to four months.

The trial continues.