Companies founded by convicted fraudster collapses, at least $1.3m in debt
A convicted fraudster allegedly owes $1.3m after a host of high profile people became caught up in a huge “mess”.
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A company, where rugby league great Anthony Minichiello was previously involved, has collapsed with at least $1.3 million in debt, alongside three other companies which were all founded by a convicted fraudster.
It has left employees with unpaid wages and entitlements while high profile Australians have also been caught up, with a dispute emerging over how much money is owed to staff.
Sports Foyer was ordered into court liquidation in May after the Australian Taxation Office launched winding up proceedings over the almost $1.3 million debt.
Sports Foyer was said to be a platform that offered a “mega marketplace” for sports allowing parents to register once for their children, access funding for all sports and activities and communicate with coaches and teammates.
Meanwhile, Sports Foyer’s founder and former secretary was John Issa – a convicted fraudster who was sentenced to three years imprisonment after pleading guilty to five charges.
A text message from Issa to employees in a group chat in WhatsApp from February revealed that wages weren’t being paid.
“Hi Team, I’m devastated how I have let you guys down this week, and the worst of it is the fact that you have all worked so hard to achieve the results you have. I can completely understand if you choose to put tools down until I clear the wages,” Issa wrote.
“I have already applied for a 3rd mortgage on my house to get the pays up to date.”
Issa also said he couldn’t promise anything but would seek $1000 as a gift of appreciation that would not be part of the salary, but employees claimed neither the wages or gift was paid.
Multiple employees have contacted news.com.au outlining amounts as much as $50,000 owed to them through unpaid wages and entitlements. Collectively, they claim they are owed almost $330,000.
However, Issa told news.com.au those figures were incorrect and a couple of week’s wages were owed “at most” and he does intend to pay it back. He said there was unpaid superannuation.
“There is no such thing with employees owed that kind of money – that’s insane ... It was only two pays that were outstanding,” he said.
The father-of-three said he had used his own money to fund the businesses.
“I’ve sold everything for this business and over the last five years we have had nothing, and I’ve lost my house over it,” he said.
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News.com.au can reveal a series of other companies linked to Sports Foyer, which were founded by Issa, also collapsed earlier this year.
These companies included Go Big Tech Pty Ltd (formerly trading as Inotap Corp Pty Ltd), Seeky IP and Go Check ID. However, Issa said these companies had never traded.
Issa was the founder and managing director of Inotap Corp and the associated companies, according to its now deleted website.
The 50-year-old was described as a “visionary entrepreneur with a proven track record of translating business concepts into successful market realities”.
Meanwhile, he pleaded guilty to five charges including dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception and recklessly deal with proceeds of crime, NSW District Court records show.
In 2020, he was sentenced to three years imprisonment which was to be served via intensive correction in the community, including performing 200 hours of community service work.
But Issa said it was a “plea of convenience” as his wife was seriously unwell and the charges were from 2014.
“I didn’t rip people off and go around taking money off people – it was a company I purchased,” he added.
Issa has also been declared bankrupt with Jason Lloyd from SV Partners appointed as bankruptcy trustee of Issa’s estate on the petition of the ATO on 18 May.
“Investigations are ongoing and no comment can be provided at this time,” the firm said.
Issa said the company collapse forced him into bankruptcy.
Roosters rubgy great previously involved
One well known Australian who worked with Issa was Roosters player Minichello, who said he was made a director of Sports Foyer by mistake and instead was only ever an ambassador.
“That directorship – that was a mistake – and once they realised that’s why they took me off,” he said.
“I have always classed myself as an ambassador and was never involved in the day to day operations of running the business.”
Minichiello had promoted the business on social media accounts alongside Lachlan Dooner, a footballer who played for the Roosters in the Harold Matthews Cup competition last year.
As a former director, Minichiello faces being held potentially liable for part of Sports Foyer’s tax debt but said he had sought legal advice given his directorship was a mistake.
“My people are dealing with the tax office to make sure I’m not liable as I wasn’t in the business,” he added. “I will let them deal with it and they are pretty confident that I won’t be liable.”
He said he wasn’t aware of Issa’s fraud convictions until recently but said he was “upfront and honest” when he asked him about it.
Minichiello said he didn’t regret being involved with the tech start up, adding things are “tough out” there for businesses.
“The idea behind it was actually a great idea – having all sports aggregated in one place for kids sports registration and activities and bringing everything into one app where parents could see multiple sports in one area,” he said.
“I’ve been involved in sport all my life and my own business is to work with kids. The idea seemed fantastic.”
Issa added that the Sports Foyer debt was incurred due to government research and development grants that had to be returned – something he said he fought for two years.
High profile people claimed to be connected
Issa claimed to have collected a host of well known people in the sports world that were listed as being on the board of directors on the Inotap website, screenshots from the deleted site show. But this wasn’t true according to those contacted
Rod McGeogh, the former chief executive of Sydney’s successful bid for the 2000 Olympic Games, said the website information was incorrect and he was never a director.
However, he was director of another company called Inotap Ltd which is also owned by Issa, that is facing winding up proceedings with the case due to be heard on July 18.
Minichiello was also a director but told news.com.au that he resigned as a director of Inotap Ltd “a couple of months ago”.
ASIC records show McGeogh was listed as a director of Inotap Ltd from June 2023 to February 2024.
McGeogh said he was aware former staff members were owed money but said they “will get paid”, adding he had been left $300,000 out of pocket from investing in the start-up.
He said he had to leave the company as a director and hasn’t been involved for six months.
“I was originally asked to help by some prominent people in sports and I tried. I am owed over $300,000 and have never received a cent,” he said.
“I’m not critical of what happened to me but I do believe the economic times are really the things that have caught John Issa out.
“What has happened here is where a person he ran out of money. He couldn’t raise money and that is a very common problem with small businesses at the moment. Its nothing more or less than that. I still think it’s a very good business idea and it’s a shame.”
McGeogh said he was unaware of Issa’s fraud convictions but said he had never felt “the need to check someone’s background” and instead takes “people as I find them”.
“He has an explanation for it and unhelpfully he has a record but it was 14 years ago and people are entitled to another start and it’s a pretty minor conviction,” he said.
“I didn’t know, I had no idea (about his convictions). I still believe that the concept that he was trying to bring to market is of enormous value – that’s why a whole heap of prominent people got on to the advisory board.”
Inotap was seeking $5m in investment
McGeogh believes if Issa can attract private equity investment he could pay off debts like the unpaid staff wages.
“John Issa is right at the cutting edge. He’s used overseas consultants to develop software but he ran out of money. He sold his own home and he’s given it everything he’s got … I’ve been out into his community and he’s held in the highest regard by the school where his kids go which is an eminent private kids school and by the community.”
Legal proceedings against Inotap Limited have been launched by a company called PitStop Recharge that initiated the winding up proceedings and it’s understood it is claiming at least $250,000 is owed to them over a failed acquisition by Inotap.
In an information memorandum leaked to news.com.au about Inotap, the acquisition was going to place Inotap “as a key player in the hospitality and retail industries”. Issa said there was no money owed to Pitstop.
The memorandum from July 2023 also mentions Sports Foyer and Seeky as part of the Inotap group, stating it is seeking $5 million in investment for the company to drive product development, “expand our marketing activities, and support our operational expenses”. But Issa said he put his own money into the business.
The companies founded by Issa included Go Check ID which was described as “an Australian owned and built digital verification system”.
Meanwhile Seeky was a “comprehensive multi service platform servicing businesses and their local communities” with both companies appearing under the Inotap website.
There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by McGeoch or Minichiello, and neither are party to the legal action later this month.
CEO of Leagues Club Australia Don Hammond was also listed as being on the board of directors on the deleted Inotap website.
But he told news.com.au that he confirmed with Issa on Monday that he was never a director “but had an advisory role on Go Check ID with clubs and sporting bodies”. Issa confirmed this was the case.
Hammond added he hadn’t heard of the other companies.
“I’ve had little involvement for sometime as they decided to concentrate on real estate,” he told news.com.au.
“I was never involved in the running (and) decision making of Inotap. I was made aware of the debt and fraud allegations approximately one month ago.”
Issa said the high profile people named as being part of the board of directors on the Inotap website was a “pure error”, while McGeogh added it was secretarial “oversight” from Issa.
“Obviously his secretarial duties are making sure things are altered as they occurred but its hindsight and the people that I deal with all knew I wasn’t a director of Inotap,” McGeogh added.
“To me it’s not false and misleading it’s a secretarial oversight of keeping public information up to date and I’ve seen no evidence of other motive.”
Those who declined to be involved
More information on the now deleted website also wasn’t accurate.
Despite being listed as an incoming director Jayne Ferguson, the appointed director of the Commonwealth Games Australia, said she was approached but after a couple of meetings decided not to join the board.
David Gallop, who is currently on the NSW cricket board and holds a host of other chairman positions, was also listed as incoming director on the Inotap website but said he was “approached last year but decided against it”.
Issa confirmed there were discussions with Gallop and Ferguson but nothing official ever happened and their listing on the website was an error.
‘It was very messy’
All four companies – Go Big Tech Pty Ltd (formerly trading as Inotap Corp Pty Ltd), Seeky IP, Sports Foyer and Go Check ID – had the same person installed as director and secretary of the companies just weeks before they collapsed, ASIC documents show.
The director agreed to speak to news.com.au on the condition that he remain unnamed. He said he is trying to repair his life after his “stressful” experience working for Issa, which he says has left him financially ruined.
He said he started out as a project manager for the business in September last year.
“Within three or four weeks of working there, I started to question John and his business and the way everything was structured. It was very messy. My first pay cheque was on time but pretty much every other one was late, sometimes a couple of days and sometimes one or two weeks, and it was like that the whole duration of September to December,” he claimed.
“In December, I received my last pay cheque. I was told by John he was working on it and money was coming in. Myself and another three or four employees stayed on board waiting for it to happen. We waited until April and had no choice but to resign.”
Issa has denied that people weren’t paid for months, adding that only a couple of weeks of salary were owed “at most”, but said there is outstanding superannuation owed.
An email from April this year from the ATO showed superannuation obligations had not been met by Go Big Tech Pty Ltd (formerly trading as Inotap Corp Pty Ltd)from 1 July 2022 to 31 December 2023.
Documents showed amounts of between $13,000, $18,000, $20,000 and $36,000 were owed to staff.
Issa added Inotap Ltd owes no wages, was a start-up and didn’t trade a cent.
‘Dumbest thing I have ever done’
The 31-year-old agreed to be signed on as sole director of the four companies but regrets his decision.
“I was told by John that this would assist in moving everything along and getting things fixed up as far as unpaid salaries. I was so heavily invested because of all the losses and it’s probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever done,” he said.
“Essentially a couple of weeks after that was when these companies were put into administration and I was in the firing line and had to deal with liquidators and the ATO.
“Everything I did – signing on as a director was in the best interest of the business and to see all of unpaid salaries paid – and John promised he would fix up all of the people’s unpaid salaries.
“Conceptually all of his ideas are great but doesn’t have money to make them actual tangible products.”
But Issa denied the allegations, He said he’s had three heart attacks in the last 22 months and was facing bypass surgery, which would have needed three months recovery.
“He chose to become a director personally as he saw how sick I was ... I never forced him or put him a in place of it, there was never a case of that,” he said.
“I told him I still can’t secure you a job, we owe you nothing.”
He said the credibility of the people that continue to back him show he has never done anything wrong, claiming people are instead out to destroy him.
The businessman added the product is real and already running.
“The product will go to market and it’s an amazing product and everybody still supports it on every level,” he said. “I truly genuinely want to help people.”
Debt collectors chasing
Meanwhile, the director of the four companies, claimed he is owed almost $60,000 in unpaid wages and other entitlements which means he has failed to pay rent, electricity and phone bills.
“I’m in a substantial amount of debt. I’ve got several defaults, every day the phone rings 20 times and they are debt collectors,” he revealed.
“I’ve applied for Centrelink and that’s $380 for the week and my rent is $500 a week so I’m in a massive hole.”
Sponsorship deal goes bust
Just a day before Sports Foyer’s collapse the peak industry body for sport in the state, Sport NSW released a media release about its community sports awards finalist.
It showed Sports Foyer as the headline sponsor and even after the company’s demise references to the business were not removed. News.com.au understands the deal would have been worth $50,000.
It was only after Sports NSW was contacted that the Sports Foyer sponsorship disappeared from the media release online.
Sports Foyer had also sponsored the government-backed Sports NSW industry conference which was held in February this year.
CEO of Sports NSW Stuart Hodge declined to comment when approached by news.com.au about why Sports Foyer remained named on its website as a sponsor long after its collapse. Mr Hodge said inquiries should be directed to the liquidated company Sports Foyer.
Liquidator Paddy Hayes from McGrath Nicols told news.com.au that investigations into Sports Foyer are ongoing but they were constrained by the availability of information.
“The liquidators will issue a statutory report to creditors within three months of appointment which will provide further information to the extent it is available,” he said.
“I confirm the books and records indicate Sports Foyer has no employees, nor have we been contacted by anyone claiming to be an employee, has an ATO debt, an intercompany creditor and a single trade creditor.”
sarah.sharples@news.com.au
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