Mr Glyn Raines, the former Chief Financial Officer of Hastie Services Pty Ltd (Hastie Services) (in external administration) has indicated he intends to plead guilty to two charges of conspiracy to falsify the books and records of Hastie Services and one charge of conspiracy to give false or misleading information to an auditor.

Mr Raines appeared in the Downing Centre District Court on 16 December 2016. The matter was set down for a sentencing hearing on Friday, 9 June 2017. Mr Raines remains on bail.

Mr Raines has admitted that:

• between 7 November 2008 and about 30 June 2011, he conspired with three senior staff members of Hastie Services to make false entries into the books of the company to reduce the "gap" between the forecast Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) and the actual EBIT;
• between 5 May 2010 and about 13 February 2011, he conspired with the same three senior staff members of Hastie Services, to make false entries into the books of Hastie Services in order to conceal the true financial position of Hastie Services' Western Australia branch; and
• between 17 June 2010 and about 9 April 2011, he conspired with the same three senior staff members of Hastie Services to provide false information to the auditors of Hastie Group Limited to conceal the above offending.

An offence to falsify the books and records of a company carries a maximum penalty of 100 penalty units or two years imprisonment, or both.

An offence to give false or misleading information to an auditor carries a maximum penalty of 200 penalty units or five years imprisonment, or both.

This matter is being prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.

Background

Hastie Services was a subsidiary of Hastie Group Ltd (in external administration), a company formerly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Hastie Group and a number of its subsidiaries including Hastie Services were placed in external administration on 28 May 2012.

Editor's note 1:

On 3 February 2017, Ms Samantha Cousins, former Finance Manager of the Northern Region of Hastie Services, appeared in the Local Court in Beenleigh. Ms Cousins has indicated that she is intending to plead guilty to two counts of conspiracy to falsify the books and records of Hastie Services and one charge of conspiracy to give false and misleading information to an auditor. The matter is set down for further mention on 3 March 2017.

Editor's note 2:

The sentencing date for Mr Raines has moved from Friday 9 June 2017 to
Friday 14 July 2017.

Editor's note 3:

The sentencing date for Ms Cousins has been set down for 24 August 2017.

Editor's note 4:

The sentencing hearing for Mr Raines has been adjourned until 4 August 2017.

Editor's note 5:

Mr Raines' sentencing hearing was held on 4 August 2017 in the NSW District Court before Judge Whitford. The Court reserved its decision until 18 August 2017.

Editor's note 6:

On 18 August 2017, the Court adjourned the matter to 20 October 2017 for the making of final orders on sentence.

Editor's note 7:

Ms Cousins' sentencing hearing was held on 24 August 2017 in the District Court of Queensland before Judge Kent. Ms Cousins was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment and given immediate release on recognizance.

Editor's note 8:

This media release was edited on 24 October 2017 to delete information in the "Background" section that incorrectly stated the external administration was funded by ASIC under the Assetless Administration Fund.