media release (17-449MR)

Queensland franchisee pleads guilty to breaching director duties

Published

Ms Sheila Anne McAulay, of The Gap, Queensland has pleaded guilty to dishonestly using her position as a director of a company.

An ASIC investigation found that Ms McAulay, a former director of Greenlay Enterprises Pty Ltd (Greenlay), engaged in illegal phoenix activity by executing a Bill of Sale to sell assets of Greenlay to a related company called Pasta on the Run Pty Ltd (Pasta), of which she was also the director, for $20,000.

However, no independent valuation of the assets was conducted and no consideration was paid to Greenlay by Pasta.  This conduct resulted in Ms McAulay stripping the assets of Greenlay, leaving no assets for the liquidator to realise to pay creditors of Greenlay.  

The Company was placed in liquidation on 1 July 2013.

Ms McAulay appeared in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on 12 December 2017 and pleaded guilty to one count of breaching her director's duties. Ms McAulay was discharged without conviction upon entering into recognisance in the sum of $2,000 on condition that she would be of good behaviour for two years.

The matter was prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.

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