Restaurant boss jets off to Las Vegas owing staff $730,000
Former staff at a prominent Mooloolaba restaurant have been left short changed by their old boss, Todd Young.
They will now get only 13 cents in the dollar for their superannuation after his company, which operated Bella Venezia restaurant at Mooloolaba through a trust, was put into liquidation.
Days after winding up Todd Young Investments Pty Ltd on December 29, 2015. Mr Young jetted off to Las Vegas with his partner.
According to records, the company Bella Venezia Group Pty Ltd owed unsecured creditors more than $738,000
According to liquidator Travis Pullen of TJP Advisory, the Australian Taxation Office has lodged a proof of debt claim with him for $167,000 in unpaid staff superannuation.
That claim is on behalf of about 120 staff.
Former staff were informed by Mr Pullen that they would receive a small dividend to be paid for outstanding wages and super, between 10-15 cents in every dollar owed.
Mr Pullen told The Sunshine Coast Daily that they would get about 13 cents in the dollar.
And despite Young might have been trading while insolvent, he had declared himself bankrupt on May 6 last year.
This effectively quashed any hope of recovering the funds in an insolvent trading legal action.
“My preliminary investigations revealed that the director may have allowed the company to trade whilst insolvent,” Mr Pullen told the Daily,
“However, on 6 May, 2016 Mr Young declared himself bankrupt.
“At this point, I discontinued my insolvent trading investigations as I did not consider that incurring any further costs in this regard would result in any return to creditors, as the director would be unlikely to have the ability to meet any eventual judgment made against him, especially when the high costs of commencing an insolvent trading action are taken into account.”
by Leon Gettler, February 16th 2017
