Matthew Hanks, the former Surf Life Saving boss out of New South Wales, Australia, allegedly bilked nearly $4 million from the organization he headed, SLSNSW.
According to reports, Hanks, 48, ran two different scams over the course of about eight years, taking around $8000 a week from state grants given to Australian surf life saving clubs.
Late last year, a staff member found something suspicious in SLSNSW’s invoices. “Unknown to SLSNSW, Mr. Hanks invoiced their printing work to his own company, See Hear Speak, but subcontracted it out to cheaper operators, pocketing the difference,” wrote Janet Fife-Yeomans for The Daily Telegraph. “He also used inflated invoices when buying and selling cars for the organization, with $2000 from each sale allegedly held back by a car dealer and put in a ‘slush fund’ that was used to buy and sell cars by Mr. Hanks.”
The Daily Telegraph reports that Hanks purchased two mansions and a yacht worth nearly $500,000. Now his assets have been frozen and his yacht has been sold. His case will be heard in court this week, but members of SLSNSW aren’t hopeful that the money will be returned.
The staffer went to the finance director with his concerns, and the police were brought in to investigate. Soon after, Hanks resigned and admitted to defrauding the organization.
“The members don’t deserve this,”Acting chief Adam Weir told The Saturday Telegraph. “Because of the actions of this one guy, the organization’s credibility has been knocked around. They are frustrated and angry.”
