Monday 30 October 2006 – Mr Duane Wayne Drake, 34, of Mandurang in Victoria, has been sentenced in the Adelaide District Court to fifteen months jail, fully suspended, after pleading guilty to dishonestly using his position to gain a financial advantage. As a result of his conviction, Mr Drake is disqualified from managing corporations until 25 October 2011. Mr Drake was a co-director of C.T.O.H. Pty Ltd (CTOH), which operated the PZ Electrical Retravision store at Waikerie in South Australia, until June 2004. CTOH was placed into liquidation on 15 June 2004 owing creditors $951,738.
An investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) found that Mr Drake had used CTOH’s American Express credit card five times between 15 and 21 October to repay a $50,000 personal debt to a former employer. His fifteen month jail sentence was suspended upon him entering into a good behaviour bond of four years with conditions including that he repay $40,000 in monthly instalments of $1000. He has already repaid $10,000. ASIC’s Executive Director of Consumer Protection, Mr Greg Tanzer, said Mr Drake’s sentence sends a clear message that company directors who misuse their position for personal advantage will be brought before the courts.
‘ASIC will not tolerate company officers who use company bank accounts for personal use and to the detriment of the company or creditors’, Mr Tanzer said. ASIC acknowledges the assistance provided by Victoria Police and South Australia Police. Mr Drake failed to attend court for sentencing in September and the police executed a subsequent warrant for his arrest and extradited him to South Australia for sentencing. The matter was prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. For further information contact: Mr Greg Tanzer Executive Director, Consumer Protection Telephone: (07) 3867 0404 Mobile: 0411 549 144 Emma Forehan ASIC Media Unit Telephone: 03 9280 3354 Mobile: 0409 702 310
