Rockwood Clinic in Rockwood, New South Wales, is a small, run-down, three-bed, four-bath clinic with a view over the River Kew in a rundown suburb of Sydney.
The building was built in 1927 by the Rockwood Savings Bank, a local bank with an annual turnover of $400,000.
The clinic was closed down after its owners and the bank were arrested in 2001 and later jailed.
One of the owners, Peter Wills, was arrested in 2011 and later sentenced to 14 years’ jail after he admitted to illegally trading in shares.
It is believed that in 2007, the bank gave Wills a $50,000 payment to help cover his legal costs.
The scheme is said to have involved selling shares to clients in exchange for cash, and using the money to pay the bank’s debts, including $1.3 million owed to it.
Wills’ wife and the former chief executive of the bank, Sue, were convicted in October this year of a total of 27 charges relating to the scheme.
Two of the charges against Wills involved selling $3 million worth of shares to the bank for cash before it was closed.
The other charges relate to the purchase of shares on behalf of clients for cash.
Wands wife is serving a two-year jail term after pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy to corrupt the stock market.
Willing’s wife pleaded guilty to another charge and was sentenced to six months’ jail.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has been investigating the Rockwell clinic for years.
The regulator found that Wills and the Wills wife acted as middlemen between Rockwood and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
The regulator also found that a bank manager from Rockwood was part of the scheme, and that Walls had acted as a “counsellor” for clients.
Will’s lawyer, Robert Nevin, told the ABC that the bank was not involved in any way in the scheme and had no knowledge of Wills receiving the payments.
“Peter Wills is an innocent man,” Nevin said.
He’s been a victim, and it’s an extremely sad one.” “
He’s a very innocent man.
He’s been a victim, and it’s an extremely sad one.”
Wills pleaded guilty in September last year to eight charges including conspiracy to commit fraud, and four counts of accepting dishonestly money for services.
He was sentenced on Wednesday to 14 months in prison.
The ABC has contacted the Australian Federal Police for comment.
