Corey and Prue Ireland: NSW Angus breeders face criminal charges
NSW Angus breeders Corey and Prue Ireland are facing criminal charges in a Sydney court, following the collapse of their company. We reveal the nature of the new charges.
NSW Angus breeders Corey and Prue Ireland face criminal charges in a Sydney court next month on failing to hand over financial books to a liquidator.
The charges are believed to relate to the collapse of their company CD & PJ Ireland Pty Ltd, which was placed in liquidation on November 14, 2019.
Mr and Ms Ireland were directors of the company, which traded as Irelands Angus at Kyeamba, south of Wagga Wagga.
CD & PJ Ireland was the trustee company for the Ireland Family Trust, until it was replaced by IFTT Pty Ltd, a company registered a day after liquidators were appointed to the first trustee.
The biggest assets under the trustee’s control were the Irelands’ Angus breeding herd and genetic material.
IFTT, of which Ms Ireland was the sole owner and director, was placed in liquidation by Westpac Bank on December 24, 2019, to gain control of the Angus cattle to recoup about $3.5m owed to the bank.
A number of parties have claimed ownership of the cattle, with the next hearings in the NSW Supreme Court to be heard on February 8 and 9.
Under the Corporations Act, it is an offence for company officers not to hand over the books of a company to a liquidator after the business is wound up.
The Irelands each face maximum penalties of $11,100 and/or one year’s jail if convicted.
It is the first time criminal charges have been laid against Ms Ireland following the collapse of their Angus breeding operation.
Mr Ireland has already been charged with 13 fraud offences in relation to Angus cattle deals.
In those cases, the NSW Police Rural Crime Prevention Unit has alleged Mr Ireland entered into joint business ventures with farmers and on-sold cattle that either did not exist, were deceased or had been on-sold without investors’ knowledge.
The case was handed over by the police to the Director of Public Prosecutions last November.
Ms Ireland told The Weekly Times the books were handed over mid last year
I have done nothing wrong,” she said.
Ms Ireland is working in Adelaide at the state manager for the Business Advice Agency, a company set up to provide a support network and mentor for small businesses.
Mr and Ms Ireland’s criminal case is scheduled for a mention in the NSW Local Court in Sutherland, in southern Sydney, on February 9.
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