Bill and Deborah Ingleton are everyday Australian’s who were maliciously pursued by Anthony Rains of the ATO and the CDPP who built a case against them, laying criminal charges without any evidence.
Background
Bill and Deborah Ingleton are everyday Australian’s who were maliciously pursued by Anthony Rains of the ATO and the CDPP who built a case against them, laying criminal charges without any evidence. Bill worked in logistics and warehousing, Debbie a bookkeeper who assisted Jae Jang in his wine distribution business Divas Beverages, when one day without cause, the ATO started investigating the Ingleton’s for tax fraud.
Charges were laid against the Ingleton’s by Anthony Rains of the ATO, who instructed the CDPP to maliciously prosecute the couple for years.
Mr Jang and the story regarding Divas Beverages can be found on this website under “malicious prosecution”.
Do you believe in the adage that you are innocent until proven guilty? Debbie believes that when it comes to the ATO and CDPP – YOU ARE GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT.
In 2003 Ms Ingleton started working for Mr Jae Jang at Wine Paradise as a bookkeeper.
In 2004/2005 Mr Jang requested the ATO send an auditor to advise him if all his company accounts were in order. Jennifer Rourke was sent by the ATO to audit Mr Jang’s company’s, while doing so started interfering with the business by causing disruptions in trade and demanding a lot of extra unnecessary work from Mr Jang and Ms Ingleton.
In 2006 Mr Ingleton, the husband of Debbie joined the company to assist with logistics and procurement. Mr Jang asked Mr Ingleton to be the director for the new company “Classic Vines Estate”. ATO auditor Jennifer Rourke and her supervisor started auditing the business before they even started operations.
In 2006/2010 Jennifer Rourke continued issuing audits across a group of companies causing major disruptions. Colin Stammers, an ATO officer also started to call Ms Ingleton excessively, sometimes 10-20 times per day demanding financial reports for all companies and setting time limits that were not realistic or achievable. Mr Stammers even started calling Ms Ingleton at home, whereby the harassment and oppression was so severe, Ms Ingleton had a nervous breakdown. The company’s lawyer stepped in and threatened the ATO they would be sued if they did not stop with the harassment. Unfortunately, the threat of Court proceedings only provided temporary relief for the Ingelton’s.
ATO Raids
In 2010 the Phoenix group division of the ATO raided Mr Jang and Mr and Mrs Ingleton’s private homes, as well, the ATO raided the company offices and warehouses of Divas Beverages located in several States across Australia. The ATO operation was called Bojangles.
While Mr Jang was in Guam at the time, it was the Ingleton’s who had to deal with the ATO. The Ingleton’s requested the ATO to stop with the raid until their legal representative arrived. The Ingleston’s were asked if there was anyone they would object to being present during the raids, Colin Stammers and Jennifer Rourke were identified. The ATO informed the Ingleton’s these individuals had already been removed from the case because of the prior complaints made by Mr Jang and the Ingelton’s.
Once the raid was completed, the ATO officer in charge told the police who assisted in the raids, to take Ms Ingleton to the Gold Coast Hospital for psychological examination before being released to go home so they were fully aware of her mental disposition at the time.
On 7 December, 2010 Ms Ingleton was examined by Seschelle Goodman, a registered Psychologist, who diagnosed her with severe depression, caused by the harassment and intimidation of the ATO.
On 1 June, 2012 Mr Ingleton assisted Mr Jang set up wholesale liquor distribution centres throughout South East Qld for Divas VKat. Mr Jang is the founder of a fortified wine products marketed under the trade name of Divas VKat.
The ATO Excise division of the ATO told Mr Jang they didn’t consider VKat to be a fortified wine even though the WET division within the ATO had given him a private ruling stating it was a fortified wine under the current laws. Mr Jang was forced to stop selling VKat or the ATO would shut Mr Jang down.
On 5 September 2014, due to the continual harassment from ATO, Ms Ingleton was retrenched from Divas Beverages when she was forced to seek other employment, and later Mr Ingleton was left with no option other than to apply for an aged pension from Centrelink.
On 9 February 2015, Mr and Mrs Ingleton received a letter from the ATO asking them to attend at the ATO offices in Brisbane for an interview because they were under criminal investigation for fraud allegedly committed between 2006 and 2010. The Ingleton’s company lawyer advised them against attending the interview, and to let the ATO present their case against the Ingleton’s.
In 2015 customers were complaining that individuals within the ATO Excise division was contacting some of Divas’ suppliers and advising them not to trade with the distribution company because the Ingleton’s, Jang and the Company Divas were under criminal investigation for fraud.
ATO Investigator Anthony Rains
On 17 December, 2017 Mr Rains accompanied by his assistant attended the Ingleton’s home and served them with a summons charging them for allegedly assisting Mr Jae Jang defraud the ATO by filing false WET claims between 2006 and 2010. It was then that Anthony Rains smiled at the Ingleton’s smirking as he informed them that Mr Jang had been arrested the night prior and was in jail…
From 2018 to August 2020, the Ingleston’s were subjected to monthly mentions attending at the Southport Courthouse. Every claim the CDPP made under instruction from the ATO was disproved at the following of each mention because of the lies, withholding of evidence, the tampering with evidence and the manufacture of evidence by the ATO Excise division.
In August 2020 Mr Rains of the ATO discontinued the charges against Mr Jang and Mr Ingleton, however refused to drop the charges against Ms Ingleton. The CDPP requested more time to review Ms Ingleton’s charges.
In October 2021 because of the CDPP’s repeated requests for extensions to keep the prosecution against Ms Ingleton going, her lawyer applied for a committal hearing and informed the court that he would subpoena ATO officials Anthony Rain and Naomi Schell. Within one week of the Court request, the CDPP advised that all charges against Ms Ingleton were discontinued.
Ms Ingleton has experienced a significant amount of pain and trauma being dragged through a criminal court when there was no evidence of any fraud, is a debilitating and humiliating experience.
Ms Ingleton warns this can happen to anyone. A strategy for the ATO and CDPP, charges are often laid early, then over years they are still trying to build their case, tying up innocent people in criminal courts for years hoping to find something that will achieve a guilty verdict.
The ATO and CDPP were aware of Ms Ingleton’s medical condition and her fragility. Ms Ingelton believes it is this reason the ATO and CDPP kept the charges against her hoping for a “plea of convenience” so they could say they got a result.
Ms Ingleton says a plea of convenience is entered into when the CDPP provides a list of facts forcing an innocent person to agree to crimes they never committed, they sign away their innocence in order to end the suffering of criminal proceedings and not having to fund a criminal trial. This can result in prison time, innocent people behind bars because they cannot continue to fund the legal battle.
Ms Ingleton says many people breakdown emotionally over years, it is a long game for the ATO and CDPP, then when the accused gives up, the ATO and CDPP can say “we got them, they were guilty”.
The Loss of Bill Ingleton
Mr Ingleton was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December 2021, a fit and healthy man with no underlying health issues. Mr Ingleton and his doctors believe he contracted pancreatic cancer due to years of chronic stress from being harassed and criminally prosecuted by the ATO and CDPP without cause.
When the charges against Ms Ingleton were discontinued in October 2021, it was the dream for the Ingleton’s to finally get their life back. Sadly, it all came too late when in July 2022 Mr Ingleton died from stage 4 cancer. Mr Ingelton unsuccessfully underwent two forms of chemotherapy to try and slow the rate of progression.
Ms Ingelton and her late husband want justice, they want to see Anthony Rain, Naomi Schelle and the CDPP prosecutors punished.
Before he died, Mr Ingelton’s final prayers were for his wife Deb to obtain justice against the people she calls criminals who unjustifiably pursued them.