Latest news with #JoshuaTaylor
ABC News
5 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Collapsed international student agency GrowPro Experience may have traded while insolvent
An international student agency that collapsed in late February may have been trading while insolvent for more than a year, the liquidator believes. In a statutory report to creditors, liquidator Joshua Taylor estimated GrowPro Experience Pty Ltd owed more than $2.74 million to creditors, including roughly $450,000 to the Australian Tax Office. His report contained preliminary findings and noted further investigations were required. In the report, Mr Taylor stated he was considering reporting alleged breaches in director duties including allegations of failure to use care and diligence, failure to act in good faith, and insolvent trading, possibly opening directors to being personally pursued for money owed to creditors. "Upon the completion of my investigations into the affairs of the Company, I will lodge my report to the ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission)," the report read. To date liquidators had identified 1,134 student clients owed refunds for education, visa and insurance services that were never delivered, with claims totalling about $870,000. Mr Taylor said many students had not lodged claims, and he estimated a true total of $2.4 million was owed back to these clients. The report, sent to creditors on May 26, stated most students — primarily from South America and Spain — would not be entitled to any refund. GrowPro's record keeping was also questioned in the report. The liquidator's report said the company's total assets were unknown because many schools recorded as owing commission payments challenged them, claiming students had not been enrolled or had withdrawn from the courses. GrowPro had two directors — Spain-based Antonio Llobet, known as Goiko, and Australia-based Paul Mansour. In the liquidator's report, the pair attributed the company's failure to increases in visa application fees, ministerial directions to reduce student numbers, and an uptick in visa refusals. Mr Taylor did not disagree with these being contributing factors, but pointed out GrowPro has made consistent trading losses since 2022. Mr Taylor told the ABC GrowPro paid its sales staff once students committed, and often before visas were approved or enrolment completed, which led to refunds being required if enrolments did not happen. GrowPro was criticised by students for only notifying them of the company's difficulties six weeks after its Spanish parent company had filed for voluntary administration and began insolvency proceedings, and for continuing to take payments after those proceedings had begun. Mr Taylor said Mr Mansour had minimal involvement in running the company, had no access to bank accounts, and only dealt with tax matters, and that Mr Llobet essentially ran the business. Mr Mansour declined to comment, but when the ABC approached him in early-March over the company's collapse he said he said he did not know what funds remained in the company bank accounts, what staff remained, or how many students were affected. Mr Llobet did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Australian Restructuring Insolvency and Turnaround Association (ARITA) said if a director had allowed insolvent trading a court could hold them responsible for debts incurred from the point of the company going insolvent. "It effectively pierces the corporate vale, and makes them have to pay," she said. Proving insolvent trading in court was a long and costly process, however, and liquidators had to consider whether directors had enough money to justify the action. There were defences in the Corporations Act directors could use to argue against liability for insolvent trading, such as being absent for medical reasons. There was no carve-out that exempted directors because they were not involved in the day-to-day running of the company. Mr Taylor previously told the ABC he was investigating "material amounts" of money transferred abroad to affiliated entities abroad. The new report revealed amounts transferred to related parties more than quadrupled between 2022 and 2024, jumping from just over $1.48 million to more than $7.9 million. The report noted Mr Llobet said all transactions were for "bona fide company expenses such as operational wages," but investigations continued into them. Mr Taylor told the ABC he had not ruled out pursuing either director to recover funds, and both would be asked for personal statements of their financial positions. With Mr Llobet having been more involved with running GrowPro's Australian entities, Mr Taylor said it was likely he would face particular scrutiny. The report read: "Upon completion of further investigations where I determine that there is a recoverable action against the director for insolvent trading or unreasonable director related transactions I shall be requesting the director to provide me with a personal statement of their financial position." The report noted a loan made from Mr Llobet to the company, which if verified may be able to be offset against any claims against him. Mr Taylor had conducted land title searches in New South Wales and found neither director owned property, and he said he was considering expanding his search to other states. Any legal action would likely depend upon funding from creditors.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Owensboro's Big Daddy's BBQ sauce hits Kroger shelves
OWENSBORO, Ky. (WEHT) — One of Owensboro's own has a barbeque sauce hitting shelves at Kroger. Joshua Taylor created Big Daddy's BBQ sauce that is now available in 50 of this, after recovering from a major health battle. Big Daddy's BBQ sauce has won several awards and landed the opportunity through a Kroger food show in Louisville; Behind the bottle is a comeback story that may be as powerful as the flavor. The accomplishment comes after a life-threatening fight for Taylor that lasted several years. 'I've been disabled since 2008. I needed a heart transplant. I was at home [and] started watching BBQ Pitmasters on tv. Figured, I better just try it,' says Taylor entered his first competition in 2011, and he and his wife at one point opened a physical location for takeout downtown. In 2018, the very thing that had unexpectedly led him to his passion took a turn for the worse. 'I got put in the hospital. The right side of my heart started feeling really, really bad. I ended up with a device called a Left Ventricular Assisted Device (LVAD). It left me in a coma. I was in the hospital for 188 days,' says Taylor. With his wife by his side, Taylor underwent a successful heart and kidney transplant two years later. He had to relearn how to do basic things again like walk, but that didn't stop people from wondering how they could get their hands on his barbeque again. He says getting his sauce on shelves helps him continue to serve the people of Owensboro. 'The fact that I can think that somebody is going to top me, it really fuels my fire. [I get] the same thing when it comes to the barbecue sauce,' says Taylor. The pair spent months trading samples back and forth with the manufacturer until it was right. 'We were just searching. We were like a dog sniffing for like a scent. My wife found [the sauce on shelves]…so happy and we were taking pictures. We were just like doing these poses stuff,' says Taylor.'It's so exciting that we still don't know all the all the stores that they're in in Kentucky, but just being able to see our product on the shelf is unbelievable. Even if life isn't going your way, don't give up. Keep the dream alive,' says Jill Taylor, his wife. People in Owensboro can find Taylor's sauce at the Frederica Street and Parrish Avenue Kroger locations. For the Taylors, every bottle represents more than just a labor of love, but a second chance at life. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Yahoo
Pennsylvania man pleads guilty in human remains trafficking scheme
(WHTM)– A Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty on Thursday to transporting stolen human remains across state lines and selling them to a previously convicted Midstate man. The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said that Joshua Taylor, 46, of Wernersville, Pennsylvania, pled guilty on May 15 to buying human remains he knew were stolen from Harvard Medical School and transporting them from New Hampshire to Pennsylvania from 2018 through 2022. The attorney's office said Taylor also sold the stolen remains to multiple other people, including Jeremy Pauley of Cumberland County, who was previously sentenced for his involvement in a human remains trafficking scheme. Cedric Lodge, a former manager of the morgue for the Anatomical Gifts Program at Harvard Medical School in Boston, allegedly stole organs and other body parts donated for medical research, transported them to New Hampshire, where his wife, Denise Lodge, sold them to Joshua Taylor, per the U.S. Attorney's office. Denise Lodge, Andrew Ensanian, Matthew Lampi, and Angelo Pereyra have also pleaded guilty to their involvement in the scheme, the attorney's office said. The maximum penalty under federal law for Taylor's crimes is 10 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release, and a fine, the attorney's office said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Renewed call for LPRs after Nashville doctor involved in serious pedestrian hit-and-run
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Some Metro leaders continue to push for license plate readers after a Nashville doctor was involved in a serious pedestrian hit-and-run over the weekend. TriStar Stonecrest's Dr. Joshua Taylor was crossing the street near the Melrose area when he was reportedly struck by a vehicle before it drove off. News 2 continues to show surveillance video of a maroon Jeep Liberty, with a gray or black driver's side door, that police are seeking. 'Could LPRs help in this instance? There is no doubt about it,' said Jordan Huffman, Metro Councilmember for District 14. 📧 Have breaking news come to you: → Huffman said LPRs have been caught up in controversy and politics after Nashville took part in a 6-month pilot program that ended in 2023. 'LPRs are utilized throughout the country, and they are proven to significantly help solve hit and runs like this,' Huffman said. Currently, every county surrounding Davidson County has an LPR system. However, right now, the priority for the Metro Council is passing Fusus. The surveillance program allows police to access business surveillance cameras with the owner's permission. However, the program has also been met with criticism when it comes to privacy concerns. 'It's just one more step on a very, very slippery slope,' one councilmember said back in December. | READ MORE | However, Huffman believes Fusus will get the votes it needs and pass by the end of March. He said then it would be all hands on deck for LPRs. He hopes an LPR contract will be on his desk by the spring. 'As far as a timeline goes, if we pass this, then I think we can start seeing these installed at the end of this year, but we are so far behind and we can't get these things up quick enough.' He said if LPRs were already in place, they would most likely catch this driver and countless more criminals. ⏩ 'We can start to close cases. We can keep our streets safe and that's what our public demands and that's what I'm after,' Huffman said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
