A former director of liquidated company Signprofiles, John Robert Forwood, this week pleaded guilty to 13 criminal charges of defrauding $3.9m, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission said.
ASIC alleged that Forwood authorised and submitted $3.9m worth of bogus invoices and accounts to Navmost Pty Ltd, while he was director of Signprofiles.
The bogus invoices were submitted to Navmost, which was then trading as debt factoring company Business Capital Finance Group (BCFG), between November 2000 and January 2001.
They related to alleged line marking and road maintenance work carried out by Signprofiles which was never carried out.
ASIC alleged the false invoices and documentation were submitted to BCFG with the intention that they would be – and in fact were – accepted as genuine and paid out.
Forwood pleaded guilty in the Downing Centre District Court to 13 charges of fraud under the NSW Crimes Act.
