COURT WIN SENDS SCAMMERS OUT OF BUSINESS

A major Gold Coast-based scam operation has been shut down and three con artists kicked out of the advertising industry for life by the Federal Court.

Fair Trading Minister Margaret Keech today told Parliament the court yesterday imposed life bans on David Robert Barrett, 57 of Broadbeach Waters, Trent David Barrett, 24 and Frank Wilson, 85, both of Ashmore, who ran a sophisticated invoice scam between 2001 and 2005.

“The ruling was a win for Queensland small businesses and a landmark case for consumer protection in Australia,” Mrs Keech said.

“The Federal Court’s decision means the three cannot work, consult, provide advice or be associated with anyone selling advertising space anywhere in Australia.

“David Robert Barrett and Trent David Barrett will be jailed for six months if they violate this order any time in the next two years.”

“They have also been ordered to pay costs of $180,000.”

Mrs Keech said the Office of Fair Trading brought the case against the three men and David Barrett’s companies Power Pacific International Media Pty Ltd and Spacelink Holdings Pty Ltd, after they ignored a 2004 court order to stop the scam.

“Their operation preyed on small business people, exploiting their support for worthy causes in the community and threatening them if they didn’t pay,” Mrs Keech said.

“Their staff, who were regularly instructed to use aliases, phoned small businesses across Australia from a Gold Coast call centre and pressured them to pay for advertising they hadn’t ordered.

“The ads were supposedly run in bogus publications with titles such as National Emergency News and Children’s Safety Forum.

“But the magazines were printed only in small numbers to show victims their ads had been run.

“Faced with the threat of legal action for unpaid debts, many businesses simply paid up rather than risking their reputation and credit rating.”

Businesses across Australia paid an estimated 10,000 scam invoices a year, with each invoice around $400. IT is estimated the scam netted $8 million over four years.

Mrs Keech said the Office of Fair Trading had pursued the scam operation since 2001, when it prosecuted another of David Barrett’s companies in the Southport Magistrates Court.

“However, the Office of Fair Trading received further complaints and executed search warrants on their premises, seizing more than 33,000 invoices.

“In 2004, the Office of Fair Trading obtained an interim injunction to stop the scam, but the companies continued ripping off businesses with bogus invoices.

“When they thumbed their noses at the court, in April 2005 the Queensland Office of Fair Trading raided their Surfers Paradise offices, seizing bogus publications, call centre records and invoices.

“In a simultaneous raid, the New South Wales Office of Fair Trading searched their Gosford call centre.

“David Barrett, Trent Barrett and Spacelink Holdings have now pleaded guilty to contempt of court.”

In her decision yesterday, Justice Berna Collier noted ‘the serious nature of the contempt charges and the deliberate and repeated instances of contempt’.

Mrs Keech said it was the first time a state or territory had used the Commonwealth Trade Practices Act to shut down a scam operation.

“We took action against them in Queensland to deliver a nationally significant outcome,” she said.

“By taking them to the Federal Court, we have ensured they won’t be able to simply move their operation to another state to continue ripping people off.

“This result will protect Queensland small business, and it will also protect businesses across Australia.”

Mrs Keech said the court orders and evidence obtained by the Office of Fair Trading opened the door for victims to seek legal advice about taking action against the scammers for damages.

Mrs Keech said if a business received a bogus invoice, it should be reported immediately to the Office of Fair Trading at www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au or by phoning 13 13 04.

Media contacts: Joanne Gibbons 3224 2007 / Tim Goodwin 3119 0062