Charity All At Sea Over $8m Fraud Charges
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday January 17, 2002
The founder of a children's charity was charged yesterday with rigging car raffles worth up to $8 million.
Lawrence Shannon, 48, faced 51 charges at Melbourne Magistrates Court relating to raffles run for his Kids at Sea charity.
A former director of the charity, Bill Horizidis, 35, who is Shannon's brother-in-law, has been charged with 11 similar offences.
Police allege that of 32 raffles run by Kids at Sea, 28 were won by Shannon under an assumed name or by his associates.
Shannon is also charged with dishonestly obtaining hundreds of thousands of dollars by creating false loans from himself to Kids at Sea.
Another charge, of failing to pay a prize winner, relates to a raffle last year at which police were present at the draw.
Shannon entered no plea and was remanded in custody. Prosecutor Mark Regan said police would oppose bail because the defendant presented an unacceptable risk of committing further similar offences and of failing to reappear in court.
He said the organised crime squad expected to lay further charges against Shannon.
Kids at Sea was set up by Shannon in 1995. He said its purpose was to help disadvantaged youth through the discipline of learning to sail.
In 1997, the charity entered the Sydney to Hobart race, taking sixth place in its $1 million yacht, Young Australia. Kids at Sea vessels have since competed successfully in major Victorian yachting competitions. Organisations which have participated in Kids at Sea programs include Odyssey House, the drug rehabilitation centre.
Australian Securities and Investments Commission records show that Shannon and his wife, Helen, were paid more than $100,000 a year as directors of the charity.
It is unknown whether a current raffle being run by Kids at Sea will be suspended in light of the charges.
It is believed police asked the Victorian Casino and Gaming Authority last year to withdraw raffle permits from the charity but were refused.
The gaming authority was not available for comment yesterday.
© 2002 Sydney Morning Herald