Latest news with #financialtrouble
Daily Mail
15 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
MasterChef star's restaurant business collapses owing half a million dollars
One of the businesses owned by MasterChef alum Reynold Poernomo has collapsed, as fears grow his popular dessert bar could be in trouble. Arnoldpo Corporation Pty Ltd, which operated as Monkey's Corner in Chippendale, was placed into liquidation on May 28, just over a year after the venue closed its doors. The small-plate bar and restaurant shut down in March 2024 after seven years in business. It was first opened in 2017 by Reynold and his brothers, Ronald and Arnold. Both Arnold and Reynold are listed as directors of the company. At the time of the closure, the team shared a message on social media hinting at future plans for the site, writing they were 'cooking up something new.' However, no new venue operated by Poernomo has opened in the space. According to documents filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the company owes more than $500,000 in outstanding debts. Of that, over $450,000 is owed to the Australian Tax Office (ATO), and $76,000 is linked to unpaid staff superannuation. Additional creditors include Sunnyside Financial Group and ASIC itself, with a combined debt of more than $5,000, as reported by The Daily Telegraph. Henry Kwok and Antony Resnick from dVT Group have been appointed as liquidators. The liquidation follows a series of financial restructures involving Poernomo's other business ventures. In 2024, Art Plate Pty Ltd, operator of his acclaimed Koi Dessert Bars, underwent a corporate restructure. Another company, JRP Desserts Pty Ltd, also oversees Koi operations, with Reynold's eldest brother Ronald and mother Ike Malada listed as directors. Despite the setback, Poernomo - nicknamed the 'King of Desserts' during his time on MasterChef - continues to run his dessert empire. Koi Dessert Bar now has three locations, Chippendale and Ryde in Sydney, and one in Melbourne's CBD, where he serves up his elaborate and visually striking cakes. However, former employees of Poernomo, who spoke to The Daily Telegraph on the condition of anonymity, say they are still following up on unpaid wages. 'We are chasing what we are owed and it's become very stressful and toxic,' one staff member said. 'Many staff have left.'
Forbes
02-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The Hidden Fraud Machine Targeting The Credit Reporting System
Megaphone Hand business concept with text Financial Trouble? We Can Help!, vector illustration Credit reporting issues have consistently ranked among the top consumer complaints tracked by the Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Sentinel Network. According to the FTC's 2024 data book, reports related to credit bureaus and information furnishers surged by nearly 129% between 2022 and 2024, jumping from approximately 591,000 to over 1.3 million in just two years. This year, the growing spectrum of complaints range from inaccurate information offered by credit reporting agencies or data furnishers, to failures to reinvestigate disputed data, inadequate customer support, and unauthorized credit inquiries. The credit reporting system is currently under siege from a sophisticated fraud typology — injecting false information that undermines its integrity and hampers lenders' ability to accurately assess credit risk. Such fraud, reliant as it is on both passive and active manipulation of the credit bureaus' mandatory processes, is contributing to both the volume and complexity of the disputes the credit bureaus receive, with a cascading effect on legitimate consumers. Based on my ongoing research, an online market of fraud activity explicitly designed to manipulate the credit reporting infrastructure in our country is thriving. Here's why fraud affecting the credit reporting system is so pervasive, including some of the evidence suggesting fraudsters' are having success in manipulating the credit reporting industry. Credit bureaus are institutions that collect, manage, and distribute consumer credit data. Their primary function is to compile detailed records of individuals' borrowing activity, including payment history, loan balances, account statuses, and credit limits. This data is used to generate credit reports and scores, which lenders rely on to assess a person's creditworthiness and risk profile. Information furnishers are the companies that feed this data to the bureaus. These include financial institutions, credit card issuers, landlords, utility providers, and debt collectors, among others. Their reporting serves as the backbone of the credit ecosystem — ideally ensuring accuracy, consistency, and transparency. But increasingly, this ecosystem is being manipulated. Credit bureau and information furnisher fraud refers to a range of deceptive practices that undermine the integrity of the consumer credit reporting system. On the credit bureau side, this includes the creation of synthetic identities using either stolen or false Social Security numbers (sometimes marketed as Credit Privacy Numbers or CPNs) and the fraudulent removal of legitimate debts or inquiries via bulk disputes or false claims of identity theft (known as "credit washing"). These practices are often advertised in the online fraud ecosystem and on social media as "credit repair" solutions. Fraud involving information furnishing, meanwhile, also often revolves around credit boosting schemes, and is centered on the submission of fabricated or misleading credit data. A common M.O. involves fraudsters setting up shell entities and posing as lenders or landlords, registering these entities as data furnishers, and then reporting fake tradelines with positive information to a consumer's credit report Fraud involving information furnishing, meanwhile, also often revolves around credit boosting schemes, and is centered on the submission of fabricated or misleading credit data. A common M.O. involves fraudsters setting up shell entities and posing as lenders or landlords, registering these entities as data furnishers, and then reporting fake tradelines with positive information to a consumer's credit report. Credit bureau and data furnisher fraud is thriving due to a combination of technological vulnerabilities, weak oversight, social media accessibility, and high financial incentives. Credit bureaus play a vital role in the financial lives of millions of Americans, including those new to credit. Their systems are designed to create new credit files to enable a young person or recent immigrant, for example, to begin to build a history and gain access to credit. As long as the synthetic data appears consistent and mimics typical consumer behavior, it's treated as legitimate, allowing fraudulent credit identities to blend into the system undetected. Similarly, credit bureaus conduct limited vetting when onboarding new data furnishers — particularly small entities or non-traditional businesses. This weak oversight enables fraudsters to either establish seemingly legitimate furnishing entities using publicly available templates, virtual business addresses, and online registration services, or purchase aged shelf companies that already appear credible. These shelf companies, often marketed on openly accessible websites, can be repurposed to pose as legitimate furnishers. A Website Offering Aged Corporations For Sale Aged Shelf Companies That Could Be Easily Adapted For Data Furnishing Because the credit reporting system is built in large part on the assumption that both individuals and furnishers act in good faith and play by the rules, fraudsters and fraudulent businesses can operate undetected for months, submitting false tradelines — including fictitious loans or credit cards with perfect payment histories — to construct synthetic credit profiles. To carry out these schemes, fraudsters are leveraging clearnet websites and Social Media groups as easily accessible platforms to orchestrate credit reporting fraud, setting the stage for high-dollar scams and future bust-out operations. The presence of these markets on easily accessible websites gives interested parties effortless access to fraudulent services, further fueling the growth of this type of fraud. Group Page Offering Fake Social Security Packages A Website Offering Fake Social Security (CPNs) Packages For Sale Data Furnisher Ad on a Popular Social Media Platform. To enhance perceived legitimacy and reputation, these vendors actively encourage their customers to leave positive reviews, much like legitimate businesses do. Many of these customers enthusiastically describe successful transactions with CPN providers. Based on my investigation into several of these reviews, I believe that many of the individuals posting them are real people — and that they have, in fact, used synthetic identities created with bogus SSNs to rent apartments, and in some cases, to attempt to open bank accounts or secure lines of credit. Review of A Vendor Selling Fake Social Security Number Packages With limited law enforcement action targeting clearnet advertisers and a sluggish regulatory response, the risk-reward balance heavily favors fraudsters. Inflated credit profiles—built using synthetic identities and false tradelines—can be leveraged to obtain auto and apartment leases, personal loans, credit cards, and 'buy now, pay later' (BNPL) financing. In many cases, these profiles are also used in bust-out fraud schemes, where fraudsters max out credit lines, quickly convert the funds to cash or goods, and then abandon the accounts entirely—leaving lenders with unrecoverable losses. Fraudulent activity targeting credit reporting pollutes the system for everyone -- consumers and financial institutions alike. When synthetic identities, CPNs, credit washing and other credit boosting scams based on false disputes clog up the system and corrupt the data, everyone is harmed. From the consumer perspective, it is critical to highlight that fraudsters often exploit vulnerable individuals—such as those with poor credit, no credit history, or those who are experiencing financial hardship—by falsely presenting their schemes as legitimate financial tools. From the perspective of the financial industry, this emerging trend poses significant risks to lenders who depend on the integrity of credit reports to properly assess and manage risk, a core component of a safe and sound banking system. When credit reports are fabricated or manipulated through the use of fake furnishers and CPNs, lenders may inadvertently approve loans for synthetic identities or extend credit to individuals without the capacity to repay, leading to losses from charge-offs and defaults. The credit reporting system is a vital component of the American economy. Fraudsters recognize this importance and leverage regulatory and internal process gaps for their own illicit gain. Protecting the integrity of the credit reporting system must be a shared priority across regulators, financial institutions and consumer advocates, not only to safeguard economic stability, but to ensure vulnerable consumers are not exploited or criminalized by increasingly sophisticated forms of fraud.
Telegraph
21-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Lawrence Dallaglio declared bankrupt
Telegraph Sport has been told it was one of those creditors who ultimately secured the bankruptcy order. A spokesperson for Dallaglio declined to comment. The 52-year-old was previously the subject of a bankruptcy petition by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), which it withdrew in September 2023 after saying he had reached an 'individual voluntary arrangement' (IVA) – a binding agreement to pay off his debts. That IVA is now listed on the Individual Insolvency Register as having 'failed' last Tuesday. Dallaglio's financial plight has been well-documented in recent years. As well as narrowly averting being made bankrupt in 2023, his company, Lawrence Dallaglio Limited, previously faced a winding-up petition from HM Revenue & Customs over an unpaid tax bill. He opted to liquidate the company, since when a report into its financial affairs for the year ending October 2024 stated that he was still being chased for hundreds of thousands of pounds loaned to the firm. Dallaglio is not the only former England star – nor member of their 2003 World Cup winning team – to face financial ruin. Phil Vickery had a request to be made bankrupt granted in February last year after reportedly racking up debts to HMRC and others totalling six figures. Meanwhile, Telegraph Sport revealed in March that a bankruptcy petition against Ugo Monye had been withdrawn after HMRC said it was unable to find him to serve it. Upon announcing his retirement from rugby in 2008, Dallaglio told the Financial Times: 'I think one has a responsibility to ensure that the taxman does not get everything.' The May 6 hearing before Deputy ICC Judge Stephen Baister centred on an urgent application lodged four days earlier by Alice Dallaglio for an order allowing the immediate sale of the home she shared with her husband for almost a quarter of a century. She was represented at the hearing by Craig Parrett, a director at Isadore Goldman specialising in personal and corporate insolvency. Parrett told the court: 'The completion of the property's set for tomorrow and all the parties are keen to ensure that completion can proceed for the benefit of the first respondent's [Dallaglio's] creditors.' Parrett said the sale price of the property was 'about £2.7m' but that equity in the home was only 'around £1.2m'. The sale price appeared to reflect the urgency of cashing in on a property which had been put on the market last year for £3.3m, more than three times its 2001 purchase cost. Parrett told Judge Baister on Tuesday that the conveyancing solicitors acting on the sale of the Dallaglio family home had 'agreed to hold the net sale proceeds'. He added: 'If a bankruptcy order is made, the net sale proceeds will be provided to a trustee. If the bankruptcy order is not made, they'll be provided to the IVA supervisor.' Judge Baister told Parrett he would prioritise the application pending minor modifications. Telegraph Sport has been told the order was subsequently granted. Dallaglio, who was filming with TNT Sports that day, was represented at the hearing by executive assistant Anna Bathurst, who spoke only to convey his apologies for being unable to attend 'due to work'. The Dallaglios are currently going through divorce proceedings after deciding to end their 20-year marriage. They have three children together: Enzo, Ella and Josie. Dallaglio stepped down as England captain in 1999 shortly after allegations emerged that he had used hard drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy, while celebrating the Lions' victory in South Africa two years earlier.
