Thursday 31 August 2006 06 – LAWFUEL – Law News Network – Former Anderson Cinema Group director, Mr Stephen Michael Anderson, has been sentenced to two years imprisonment today in relation to two charges brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
Mr Anderson, of Ballarat, Victoria, pleaded guilty in the Victorian County Court to one count of obtaining a financial advantage by deception involving $530,000 and one count of false accounting. He was sentenced on each count to two years imprisonment with 18 months fully suspended to be served concurrently.
Today’s sentence follows an investigation by ASIC into Mr Anderson’s involvement in a cinema formerly operated by the Anderson Cinema Group in Sunbury, Victoria. This investigation found Mr Anderson had obtained a false invoice which he then used to obtain a $530,000 loan from the owner of the shopping centre where the cinema was located. ASIC alleged this loan was provided upon receipt of the invoice on the understanding that the shopping centre owner held security over various fixtures and fittings within the cinema.
These fixtures and fittings were found to have already been provided by Mr Anderson to the ANZ Bank as security for loans it had made to the Anderson Cinema Group. The Anderson Cinema Group was placed into receivership in March 2004. The matter was prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. For further information contact: Allen Turton Deputy Executive Director, Enforcement Telephone: 02 9911 2338 Mobile: 0411 549 236 Emma Forehan ASIC Media Unit Telephone: 03 9280 3354 Mobile: 0409 702 310
