Jan Cameron fails in bid to delay sentence for misleading ASX while she appeals in Supreme Court

Multi-millionaire businesswoman Jan Cameron, one of Tasmania’s wealthiest residents, will soon be sentenced for hiding her interest in organic baby food giant, Bellamy’s. Latest from court.

Jan Cameron. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Multi-millionaire businesswoman Jan Cameron has unsuccessfully tried to adjourn her sentencing after being found guilty of hiding her interest in organic baby food giant, Bellamy’s.

In December last year, Janet Heather Cameron, 71, was found guilty in the Hobart Magistrates Court of failing to disclose the fact she controlled 14 million shares in Bellamy’s through the Black Prince Private Foundation – an offshore entity based on the Caribbean island of Curacao.

Cameron, one of Tasmania’s wealthiest residents and once one of Australia’s richest women, was a former director of Bellamy’s, which listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in 2014.

Tasmanian company Bellamy's Organic in Launceston makes organic baby food.

With charges brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Cameron – who also founded clothing giant Kathmandu – pleaded not guilty to one count of making a false or misleading statement, and one count of failing to give information about substantial holdings.

Magistrate Michael Daly found she bought the shares through Black Prince in 2014, failing to disclose the purchase to Bellamy’s and the ASX, then later omitting that information in a substantial shareholders notice.

The process has been described as “warehousing”, in which a person can have substantial holdings in a company, but not under their name directly.

The purchase had made Cameron the major shareholder of Bellamy’s.

Mr Daly’s finding that each of ASIC’s charges had been proved came more than two years after the contested court hearing in late 2021.

On Monday, Mr Daly called the matter back on “because of lack of communication with the court about any kind of timetable” for submissions and sentencing.

Hobart Magistrates Court, Liverpool St. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Richard Jupe

During that hearing – which Cameron did not attend – her lawyer James O’Shannessey said she was seeking an adjournment of her sentencing hearing, as she was appealing her guilty finding in the Supreme Court of Tasmania.

Mr O’Shannessey said this was an attempt to “minimise duplication of proceedings”.

But Commonwealth prosecutor Chelsea Brain said that application was opposed, arguing “there should not be a departure from the ordinary course unless there are exceptional circumstances”.

Mr Daly agreed.

“My view is this, it’s uncontroversial that criminal proceedings should be expeditiously resolved, and these proceedings have already been extended,” he said.

“This is not an exceptional case as far as I can see.”

Mr Daly said Cameron’s application for a stay in proceedings, based on the Supreme Court appeal, was “not a good submission”.

He noted there was “significant public interest” in finalising her case and that Cameron’s appeal was “not something that should deflect the court”.

“The administration of justice is served by proceedings taking their ordinary course to finality,” he said.

“Adjourning sentence would bring the administration of justice into disrepute.”

Cameron will be sentenced on March 28.

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