Missing fraudster Melissa Caddick, who misappropriated millions of dollars from her clients, used the services of a former bankrupt accountant who had been banned for ten years from managing a corporation as well as jailed for embezzling money from a superannuation fund.

Cyril “John” Pearson, 77, was sentenced to a five-year jail term in 1998 after he was found guilty of stealing money from a super fund as well as falsifying documents to cover his tracks.

Melissa Caddick and her one-time accountant Cyril ‘John’ Pearson who is a former bankrupt and was jailed for fraud.

He was the first person in Australia to be prosecuted by the corporate regulator ASIC in relation to the misuse of superannuation funds.

His company, Corplan, was the administrator of the Beneflex Superannuation Fund which managed super funds for thousands of hospitality workers. Members lost $2.7 million in contributions, half of which was fraudulently used by Mr Pearson for his own benefit.

Prosecutor Bob Mulholland told the Brisbane District Court that Mr Pearson had used the superannuation fund as “a personal bank”. Mr Pearson’s barrister Russell Hansen, QC, said his client never intended to take the money and that “he always intended to make good the funds” from incoming contributions.

During his sentencing hearing, Mr Pearson apologised to those who’d lost money but he also claimed that he too had suffered: losing $450,000 and becoming bankrupt.

Mr Pearson’s son Cameron was also found guilty in relation to cashing $240,000 worth of cheques on the super fund account.

As well as being banned from managing a corporation for 10 years, Mr Pearson was ordered to repay more than $1.5 million.

Mr Pearson was Ms Caddick’s personal and company accountant for a two-year period up until June 2018. He once boasted in a corporate video that the art of tax planning is “to divide, to defer, to delete and to discount.”

After a falling out with Mr Pearson, Ms Caddick moved her business to another suburban Brisbane accountancy firm whose two partners Nicolas Morales and Glenn Dunne had previously worked for Pearson.

Melissa Caddick’s solicitor, Jennifer Williamson.

Caddick’s lawyer at the time of her presumed death was Jennifer Williamson. Ms Williamson acted for Mr Pearson in a legal dispute in 2016. For the last 25 years, Ms Williamson has run a successful small all-female law firm specialising in wills and estates.

“I help women, that’s my gig,” said Ms Williamson, who was introduced to her client by Ms Caddick’s Brisbane relatives, who are among her victims.

Ms Caddick instructed Ms Williamson to draw up her will in August 2019. The will included an apartment in Aspen which investigations have concluded does not exist. Like others, Ms Williamson said she was “blindsided” by the revelations about her client which have emerged since her disappearance.

Ms Caddick vanished in the early hours of November 12, 2020.

The previous day at least 20 Federal Police along with investigators from ASIC spent more than 12 hours at her Dover Heights home. As well as computers and records, they also left with handbags, clothes, jewellery and other luxury goods which were proceeds of her crimes.

An arrest warrant was issued for Ms Caddick on February 21. She was facing 38 criminal charges including falsely claiming she had a financial services licence as well as a number of fraud-related offences. However, those charges were dropped after Ms Caddick’s remains were found in a shoe which washed up on the south coast of NSW on February 22. The dropping of the criminal case meant that the civil case could proceed in order to return money to investors.

Bruce Gleeson, the court-appointed provisional liquidator of Ms Caddick’s company Maliver, said that the disappearance of Ms Caddick has significantly hindered his attempts to piece together her complex affairs.

He is trying to determine where the money has gone and to identify assets which could be sold to return funds to investors.

In documents filed recently with the Federal Court, Mr Gleeson said his investigations into the movements of the $30 million which washed through her accounts between 2011 and 2020 had been hampered by the thousands of Ms Caddick’s documents which contained “incorrect and misleading financial information”.

Mr Gleeson has interviewed Mr Pearson, Ms Williamson and Mr Morales as part of his inquiries. No wrongdoing is alleged against any of them or against Mr Dunne.

Pearson was not available for comment.

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