Toad’s Chorus

Rogue art dealer Ron Coles has now got a lot more to worry about.

After entering into a deal, promising to sell artworks for cash creating a simple but effective money laundering scheme.  However, after his disappearing act, the artwork is nowhere to be found, nor is the large sums of cash the bikers handed over.

Stealing a million dollars from criminals will most likely end up outting Coles to an early grave.

Coles is likely to have more concern about the bikers on his tail than the overstretched law enforcement officials who have pretty much said they are too busy to track him down. The bikers however will not stop until he is found, and “taken for a little ride”.

Coles has been playing a game of cat-and-mouse with an angry hoard of investors for months.  It is now a race for who will get to him first.

People are very strange. On one side you have those that trust no one, then you have the victims like those Ron Coles has defrauded.

Coles’s Kenthurst gallery barely covered a third of the money owed to ANZ back, reaching AU$1.32 million at auction on Friday. ANZ won’t really like the fact, since they are owed a tidy AU$3.4 million. Someone must have checked the security value surely? Or are banks in the habit of providing that much credit without confirmation of security? Would wanring bells have gone off earlier has their processes been better?

Australian Securities and Investment Commission aren’t really interested, and have ceased their investigation, and the police are not really going to folow up unless there is proof of at least AU$500,000 in fraud.

Jirsch Sutherland, the bankruptcy trustee, had the joyful task of telling the creditors it was likely Ron Coles would get away without any criminal charges. These investors will more than likely be pretty bewildered by all of this. Particularly as the police gave the reason for withdrawing investigations as simply a lack of resources. Pretty shocking really.

A police spokesman said: “A claimant-funded civil investigation by the receiver could assist. However, the criminal investigation will now be conducted by police regardless of the outcome of the claimant-funded investigation.”

So that’s pretty much the only option for the saga to be resolved. Civil courts for what is obviously criminal activities.

As for the artwork involved, they are poping up all over the place, and as multiple people “own” them, it’s going to get very very messy.

The big question is where Ron Coles is. How long can he hide?  And just how much money did he make from his AU$30 million scheme.