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The agent made promises that our personal and company BAS has been completed and submitted which they were not for nearly 2yrs. The agent promised us that the returns were lodged for 2012 which they were not as discovered once we went to a new agent.
Promised to return emails, phone calls, return documents needed for other matters, all of which were broken. Failed to submit several documents to the ATO, complete tax returns, Business Activity Statements, or even update company and personal details with the ATO. Had myself registered as a building contractor when I work in IT, meaning I had to submit monthly BAS instead of 3mthly. Non stop incompetence with every matter handed to her.
She became abusive, insulting and generally extremely rude when we finally had enough and threatened further action/official complaint to the governing bodies. Reply was then finally received via email with fabricated reasons as to why nothing has been done, attempting to put blame back on us contrary to the black and white email chain over the past 2yrs that she has failed to do any of the work she has promised to complete.
All of this has landed us in hot water as a business with the ATO as well as our Family Tax Benefit cancelled and Centerlink asking for money back as they see no tax returns lodged to prove income for over 2yrs. Now has spitefully refused to return documents to us or our new accountant as requested by us and the new agent.
During all of this, we spoke to one of her previous employers who owned Wappetts in Lismore who says she was fired and that he has heard and knows all tof her excuses so it seems this is just who she is. Official complaint now lodged with Tax Practioners Board and the Australia Tax Office, with 2yrs of email evidence submitted showing the promises made and broken. Legal proceedings are now being looked into.
Hopefully this post will serve to protect others from falling prey to her incompetence. She is far from professional in her conduct from dealing with the accounts to customer relations and has no sense of accountability. Save your time, money and emotional energy. Use one of the better known firms such as Wappetts.
![Santa Barbara Tax Products Group [SBTPG] Reviews](/images/business/48-48/122854/santa-barbara-tax-products-group-sbtpg.png)
High flyer’s fall continues
Properties lost in loan defaults
The Northern Star15 Sep 2018LIANA TURNER Liana.Turner@northernstar.com.au
THE daughter of a former Lismore mayor has lost her home after a company her father is involved with defaulted on loans mortgaged against multiple properties.
Belinda Nott’s family will need a new home after the matters involving Reavill Farm Pty Ltd, which her father, former Lismore mayor Jeff Champion, is connected to.
The news comes just two months after Ms Nott, 39, lost an appeal against a fraud conviction for faking two CBA receipts to pretend she had settled an overdue debt.
Her company, Manor Holdings (NSW) Pty Ltd – behind the five-star Ballina Manor Boutique Motel – owed creditors an estimated $3.3 million as of June this year, including unpaid tax, penalties and interest to the Australian Tax Office along with unpaid superannuation for former staff.
Justice Stephen Campbell in Sydney Supreme Court on August 10 considered an application to delay the family’s eviction.
Ms Nott, acting for Reavill Farm in court, asked for two weeks to file a defence under the Farm Debt Mediation Act.
But Justice Campbell said there was “a body of evidence which suggests that this is not a farm debt”, meaning the defence was “not very strong”.
Justice Campbell refused the application and said if the eviction proceeded when it was scheduled on Monday, August 13, the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd – which is repossessing – said it would not market the property for sale immediately.
Another property, at Tuckurimba, will also change hands as a result of legal action brought by Jeffrey Friend and Patricia Holt against Reavill Farm Pty Ltd and Tucki Hills Pty Ltd – which Mr Champion is also linked to – on August 29.
This property was mortgaged against a $785, 000 oneyear loan the companies entered into on July 27, 2016.
Reavill Farm is linked with Mr Champion’s quarry and Ms Nott’s Wilsons College student accommodation, both based at Tucki Tucki.
Justice Ian Harrison ordered the property be handed over to Mr Friend and Ms Holt.
He also ordered the defendants pay them $879, 556.24 in outstanding costs as well as their legal costs.
The plaintiffs’ solicitor Kelly Waring wrote to the defendants five times, but no payments were made.
Justice Harrison said it would be “difficult” to grant to defendants “any further leeway”.
“The time has now passed beyond which any attempts to substitute their lender should have been concluded, ” he said.
The repossession matter was set down for further directions on October 5.
‘‘
ANY ATTEMPTS TO SUBSTITUTE THEIR LENDER SHOULD HAVE BEEN CONCLUDED. JUSTICE IAN HARRISON
Judge rejects mum’s fraud appeal
Ex-Ballina Manor co-owner’s evidence ‘implausible’
The Northern Star21 Jun 2018HAMISH BROOME hamish.broome@northernstar.com.au
Photo: The Northern Star
REJECTED: Belinda Nott, pictured leaving Lismore Courthouse escorted by her solicitor Vince Boss, has lost her appeal over a fraud conviction.
A DISTRICT Court judge has rejected a well known Northern Rivers woman’s appeal over an embarrassing fraud conviction.
Belinda Catherine Nott, the daughter of former Lismore mayor Jeff Champion, was convicted for obtaining financial advantage by deception in Lismore Local Court and handed a 15-month suspended jail sentence in November.
Nott appealed the conviction, but on Tuesday Judge Laura Wells upheld both the conviction and the sentence, characterising some of the 39year-old mother of four’s evidence as “completely implausible”.
In June 2016 Nott crafted two fake Commonwealth Bank payment receipts to pretend she had settled a long overdue debt of $5720 to a Lismore business, Sidewinder Advertising, which was incurred for advertising services for a business Nott co-owned with her husband, the Ballina Manor, and another business, Wilsons College student accommodation in Lismore.
Brett Watson, owner of Sidewinder Advertising, gave evidence in the local court that he had made “19 to 20” personal requests to Nott to pay the debt over about 12 months.
The discovery that the receipts Nott presented were fake sparked a police investigation, and Nott was eventually charged with one count of obtaining financial advantage by deception.
When she was first formally interviewed on September 13, 2016, Nott told police that she was never at the bank, and had in fact asked a staff member to deposit the cash, but couldn’t remember who.
At first she blamed the bank, lodging a complaint with both the Commonwealth Bank and the Financial Ombudsman about the “missing” transaction.
But in a second interview with police on October 18, Nott had a much stronger recollection that she had given the cash to a former employee to deposit.
This was Jacqueline Dussault, a Canadian backpacker who worked as a waitress and housekeeper for the Ballina Manor, and had no licence to drive in Australia, nor owned a car. Yet, according to Nott, she was asked to do the banking on June 9 in Lismore, 30km from Ballina.
Giving evidence via video link in a hearing last October, Ms Dussault had claimed she had never done any banking for Nott, nor was she allowed to drive in Australia and mainly rode a bike around Ballina for transport.
The court accepted Ms Dussault’s evidence and rejected Nott’s.
Judge Wells said it was a “quite serious episode” for the mother of four as “some planning and consideration must have gone into her acts”.
“She deceived (Mr Watson) into believing something was true when it was false ... that is the clear finding I make, ” the judge said.
“She repeatedly misled him and the worst of it was she implicated a person (Ms Dussault) who was not involved.”
Judge Wells also noted that Nott could not recall who deposited the money that day or “much about it all” in her first interview with police, yet this contrasted with her “excellent recall” in the second interview, a little over a month later.
She also said it was inexplicable that Nott did not seek to question Ms Dussault over the missing payment.
In short, Judge Wells said Nott’s evidence was “simply not acceptable, and not believable”.
Despite Nott’s clean prior record she also upheld the sentence of 15 months’ suspended jail.
“I’m of the view ... the threshold has been crossed and the sentence is appropriate, ” Judge Wells concluded.
FORCED SALE OF LUXURY MANOR
Luxury motel forced into liquidation
The Northern Star2 Jun 2018HAMISH BROOME hamish.broome@northernstar.com.au
Photo: Contributed
STILL OPERATING: The Ballina Manor Boutique Hotel remains open for business, with liquidators in early negotiations with potential buyers.
A HISTORIC Ballina motel has gone into liquidation after court proceedings by an unpaid creditor.
The Ballina Manor Boutique Hotel will be sold off after parent company Manor Holdings (NSW) Pty Ltd went into forced liquidation last month.
One of the two directors of the company is Belinda Catherine Nott, who was convicted in Lismore Local Court last November of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception.
Mrs Nott was given a 15month suspended jail sentence for the offence, which involved faking a payment to a company contracted for advertising services for the Ballina Manor and another business.
She was also involved in civil court proceedings earlier this year in relation to $13, 000 worth of unpaid electricity bills issued to Ballina Manor in 2015 and 2016.
Following a court order against Manor Holdings (NSW), insolvency firm Cor Cordis was appointed on April 17 to oversee the liquidation process.
The motel remains open for business, however, with liquidators in early negotiations with potential buyers.
It is hoped it will continue to trade into the future.
Cor Cordis senior accountant Clement Teng told The Northern Star that as well as selling the company’s assets to pay out creditors, the firm would conduct an investigation into the company’s affairs and see if any of its business activities were “questionable by law”.
A future report will be issued by Cor Cordis, summarising the results of its investigation. There is no deadline on the report.
Mr Teng said that prior to liquidation proceedings, the business had gone into voluntary administration on February 9, but was not able to be restructured and continue as a viable entity to the satisfaction of creditors.
He said the civil court proceedings to wind up the company were brought against it by a trade creditor.
The heritage-listed building in Norton St was originally opened as a Methodist ladies college in 1925, but was later converted to a guest house, before a third incarnation from the 1970s onwards as a residential unit block.
It was auctioned in 1999 and Ballina Shire Council had given in-principle support for its demolition, but the owners refurbished and reopened it as a fivestar motel.
It offers four kinds of luxury rooms which cost between $165 and $290 a night.
A BALLINA woman on a suspended jail sentence for fraud has fronted Ballina Local Court in a civil dispute over $15, 000 worth of electricity bills to a luxury Ballina motel.
Belinda Catherine Nott, 39, was required to present herself in court today so a lawyer representing the electricity retailer could examine her means of paying the debt.
The court has been told Ms Nott had entered into an agreement with Melbourne-based electricity retailer Momentum Energy in August 2015 for the supply of electricity to the Ballina Manor Boutique Hotel at 25 Norton St Ballina.
Momentum supplied electricity to the address from August 2015 until September 2016.
During that period it issued Nott with tax invoices totalling $13864.32, none of which Momentum claims were paid.
Momentum subsequently launched civil action in the Sydney Downing Centre Local Court in May last year over the alleged debt.
It claimed Ms Nott had been "unjustly enriched to the detriment of (itself) the Plaintiff" to the value of $13864.32.
After Ms Nott failed to respond to the claim a default judgement was handed down on July 19 last year which ordered her to pay $15, 351.94.
She has since incurred a further $1040 in court and legal costs, according to information in court papers, after failing to settle the debt.
Ms Nott was also a no-show for a previous examination scheduled on December 13, and the Ballina Local Court sent her a "warrant to issue" arrest warning.
Today's examination was held and concluded.
Ms Nott was required to prove that she had the means to settle the debt, presenting documents such as tax returns and insurance invoices to Momentum's legal representative.
The parties now can now settle the matter out of court at their own discretion.
Ms Nott refused to comment outside court.
Ms Nott is a former Lismore City Council election candidate and the daughter of former Lismore mayor Jeff Champion.
In November she was given a 15 month suspended jail sentence for one count of obtaining financial advantage by deception after she had gone to elaborate lengths to avoid settling a $5720 bill from a local business for advertising services.
The advertising had been commissioned with Lismore business Side Winder Advertising in early 2015 for two accommodation businesses which Nott managed - the Ballina Manor Motel, and Wilsons College student accommodation in Lismore.
During the course of the deception Nott had made two fraudulent bank deposit receipts to "prove" she had paid Side Winder.
THE daughter of a former Lismore mayor who went to extraordinary lengths to avoid paying a $5720 bill - including crafting false receipts and concocting an elaborate story implicating a former employee - has narrowly escaped jail for her deception.
Belinda Catherine Nott, daughter of former Lismore mayor Jeff Champion, was yesterday handed a 15 month suspended jail sentence over her determined efforts to avoid paying a bill from a Lismore business for advertising services.
During the course of her ongoing deception, Nott, now 39, made two fraudulent bank deposit receipts to "prove" she had paid Sidewinder Advertising the sum of $5720.
The advertising was commissioned in early 2015 for two accommodation businesses which Nott managed, the Ballina Manor Hotel, and Wilsons College student accommodation in Lismore.
After failing to settle the bill for more than a year - despite multiple reminders via mail and email - in June last year Nott promised owner Brett Watson she would deposit the money into his account on June 9, but he received nothing.
When Mr Watson contacted Nott four days later she said she had paid two amounts of $2, 860 at the Commonwealth Bank in Lismore on June 9.
After Mr Watson requested the receipts, Ms Nott emailed him copies on June 17. He complained to the bank - but records indicated there were no deposits at Lismore to his account on June 9.
Nott subsequently told police she had sent a former female employee to deposit the $5, 720.
The former employee, who had since returned to her home country of Canada, appeared via video link in a hearing in Lismore Local Court last month, and said she had never done any banking for Nott.
Nott was formally charged on November 5 last year.
She failed to front court on eight occasions during the drawn out court proceedings.
After she failed to appear in February this year a warrant was issued for her arrest and she was given bail conditions.