- Ex-AFFL referee is in court on accusations of fraud
- Gives guilt in theft and row -violations while he is in custody
- Discover why the guilty plea was not accepted by the magistrate
Former AFL referee Troy Pannell is confronted with the court after a dramatic fall from grace, because proceedings exposed a confused web of alleged fraud, theft and row -violations.
Pannell is accused of cheating his former employer, Searoad Shipping, of more than $ 8.7 million for a period of ten years.
The company claims that he led payments to a company that he checked, independent container country meters and assessors, who are reportedly did not do real repair work.
The 48-year-old, who between 2005 and 2018 291 Public Prosecutors, including five finals, appeared in the Supreme Court flanked by guards, with a gray training suit and green shirt.
He had not appeared in court before, so that Justice Andrew Watson carried out an arrest warrant.
The Saga was intensified at the beginning of June when Pannell crashed into a car in a tree while allegedly the police would be on the run, which led to an air bridge and life -saving operation.
The former AFL referee is accused of having millions of a company that has reported not to work
Pannell officied 291 games before his career ended in shame and several criminal allegations came up
Shortly after leaving the hospital, Pannell was put on sale in the Fulham in the Fulham.
He later appeared in the Heidelberg Magistrates Court via Videolink, bearded and dressed in a green prison uniform.
His hearing to argue guilty of the theft of a Hyundai Tucson of $ 45,000, a mobile phone of $ 2000 and other driving activities was postponed to give his new legal team more time.
His previous lawyer was no longer worn for him six days earlier.
“I’m just here in a cell. No psychological facility. I saw a nurse every few days. ‘, Pannell told court.
When asked if he ran the risk of self -harm, he replied, “No sir.”
He also stated during the procedure: “I just want the plea to be made.” One of the charges he will argue guilty of does not include stopping when it is led by the police.
Searoad -Sends claims that Pannell has authorized hundreds of repair invoices for sea containers, each of which usually costs between $ 800 and $ 900.
Searoad-shipping Claims Pannell created fake container repairs for a period of ten years of a total of $ 8.7 million
Suspicion was only picked up when a financial manager discovered that the company that received the payments was not registered for GST.
Pannell is said to have had the authority to approve purchase orders up to $ 5000 without requiring supervision.
The company trusted him to follow the right processes, but now claims that none of the repairs has actually been completed.
During a separate hearing on Friday, Pannell admitted that he had no assets worth $ 8.7 million.
However, he disputes an indictment of the sale of a racing horse, the jewel of Aimee, after his assets were frozen.
He told the court that the mandriffen had been sold to a friend, Maree Wilke, and admitted that he had transferred $ 10,000 cash.
“I will not dispute the cash of $ 10,000, no … I am in terms that I sold the anti -trime prior to a freezing assignment,” he said.
Justice Watson asked Pannell if he understood that pleading was guilty of the indictment that he had not held the assets from 2 March and 1 May.
Pannell replied, “Yes, I accept that.”
The court will meet again once Pannell has revised statements and decided whether witnesses must be operated. He remains in custody while his legal affairs continue to unfold.
#Chattered #Afl #Referee #Troy #Pannell #argues #guilty #alleged #fraud #declarations #explosive #million #ramp #claims #plea #rejected