The Plutus Payroll scam at least delivers a clear warning of how easily ordinary people can get sucked into a criminal enterprise and suddenly find themselves confronted by both the police and the media world. Brittney was an eighteen year old teenager, pregnant with her first child when an acquaintance asked for her help to solve a problem. She was asked to start a company in her name because a wealthy businessman was about to go through a messy divorce and he wanted to hide money from a vengeful wife. She was promised a five hundred dollar reward each month for her assistance and she opened several bank accounts in her name as part of the deal.
Brittney had absolutely no business experience and she had to chase her sponsor for those monthly payments. When she bothered to check bank statements she noticed a balance of five hundred thousand in one and two hundred thousand in another. Eventually, she started getting phone calls from the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, She started to realise that she was deeply into something she didn't understand - and she wanted " out " !
When her sponsor was unhelpful she went on a $ 20,000 shopping spree. That had the desired effect but too little and too late. The company was forcibly wound up and she was dragged before a court and publicly examined. She - and many others - had been duped into becoming the " front " people for a vast criminal enterprise and now those people had melted away and left these " straw " people holding an empty bag !
It sounds exciting to be asked to become a " director " of a company and sit on the board, but with that title comes responsibilities. The law is very clear on what constitutes a business offence and " trading when insolvent " is a crime. A director needs to know precisely how that company is performing and whether other employees working under his or her direction are complying with the law.
There is an element of risk in undertaking an executive position in any organization, even if it is of a charitable nature. The law requires such an office holder to be diligent - and honest. If an offer seems too good to be true - then it probably is just that ! And needs to be avoided !
What happens to Brittney will be decided by a court but the experience will not sit well on her business resume and it is likely that she will incur at least some legal fees if she engages a lawyer for her defence. It will not have been a happy experience !
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