iscover NDIS provider charged for allegedly shifting $859k to personal gambling accounts
BusinessA Western Australian NDIS provider has been charged for allegedly transferring $859,000 out of his support business to various gambling accounts in his name.
The former director of a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) provider has been charged with dishonesty offences after he allegedly moved money from his support services business into personally held gambling accounts.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has alleged that Byson Turner, the former director of NDIS provider Links Support and Consulting Services, had transferred $858,948 from the business to accounts with Sportsbet, TABTouch, NetLotto, and numerous other gambling companies from 2019 to 2022.
The corporate regulator alleged that Turner had unlawfully made 2,782 separate transfers from Links to the gambling accounts in his name.
ASIC added that Links had been operating as an unregistered provider of services under the NDIS. Furthermore, the corporate watchdog found that Turner had failed to comply with requirements under the ASIC Act to attend two separate ASIC examinations when compelled to do so.
Turner was charged with eight counts of dishonestly using his position as a director, intending to gain an advantage for himself, and two counts of failing to comply with ASIC examinations.
For his alleged dishonesty offences, he could face up to 15 years in prison, as well as 4,500 penalty units, which would translate to a fine of almost $1.5 million, based on the current Commonwealth penalty unit value of $330.
The ASIC-related charges could bring up to two years in prison, or a fine of 240 penalty units ($79,200).
The matter is being prosecuted by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Turner’s company was also placed under the control of a liquidator on 14 February 2023.
Emma Partis
Emma Partis is a journalist at Accountants Daily and Accounting Times, the leading sources of news, insight, and educational content for professionals in the accounting sector. Previously, Emma worked as a News Intern with Bloomberg News' economics and government team in Sydney. She studied econometrics and psychology at UNSW.
