The head of an Australian farming organisation says he has lost thousands of dollars owed to an alleged fraudster.
John Wilson, the chief executive of Weston Farms, said he was told by a debt collector he owed $4,000 in unpaid payments after his company received a tip about a suspicious bank account.
Mr Wilson said he called Weston Farms and was told he had to repay the debt to be released from the debt collector’s hold.
Mr Ryan said the debt was “massive” and that it would take the family two years to recover.
“This is one of the largest debts I have ever been charged with,” he said.
“There are a lot of people that are struggling and we are going to have to take the fight to them, and we’re going to make it a long fight.”
He said Weston Farms was “very proud” of Mr Wilson’s efforts.
“We would like to take a moment to thank John for his courage and willingness to take on this very significant debt, to ensure that Weston Farms continues to grow and prosper,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
“As we all know, a debt is a debt, so Weston Farms would like you to know that this is not something that we have forgotten, nor is it something we would wish on anybody.”
Mr Wilson has told Fairfax Media that he had been left with “bloodbath” debt after he was charged with bank fraud.
He said the company was in debt to several different people and that he was owed about $4.5m.
“It’s been a bloody bloody nightmare,” Mr Wilson said.
“I’m trying to get the whole house in order, and I have no idea how I’m going to get it back.”
Mr Ryan, who said he had spoken to Mr Wilson and his wife, said Weston was currently in the process of finding a buyer.
“I can tell you that we are not just dealing with a small handful of people, but that is the reality of the situation,” he told the ABC.
“The bank is still on the hook for hundreds of thousands of Australian dollars.”‘
The sky is falling’He said his wife had been forced to move out of their home in the Hunter Valley to make ends meet.
“My wife has been forced into a new life and it’s the sky is not falling, it’s just falling,” he explained.
“They are going through a very tough time.”
Mr Cameron has not yet received a copy of the charges against him, nor has he spoken to Weston Farms.
Mr Cameron said he wanted Weston Farms to stay independent and said he did not want Weston to be a pawn in a larger fraud.
“He was just a simple farmer, he didn’t have the money,” Mr Cameron said.
Mr Morgan, the chairman of Weston, has said that Weston’s debts had been repaid.
“When we came to the court we said to the courts, we have been repaid,” Mr Morgan told ABC News.
“And we are still paying those debts, and that is how we’re managing this.”
He told the Federal Court in Brisbane on Monday that he would be “happy to settle” Weston’s debt and that Weston would “reboot” the business once the debt relief came through.
Topics:business-economics-and-finance,bankers,consumer-fraud,law-crime-and-(proceedings-of-justice),banking,law,australiaContact Rebecca CuthbertsonMore stories from New South Wales