COLLAPSED ABQ NOW BEING LOOTED BY THE PROS

Allied Brands Ltd. administrator Vincents has filed notice for an ADDITIONAL six weeks of "convening period" after already getting one extension over the holidays.

It is unknown what this additional six weeks can accomplish - Vincents says "it is in the best interests of creditors and members of the company".

With charges by Vincents being made against the company of at least $80k/week, the only one who's interest is being looked after is the administrator, apparently.

Once the amateurs running a company like ABQ have stripped it of investor assets, then the pros come and and the real looting begins.

There is however still no sign of the missing Ad Trust Fund monies, nor the $750K "loaned" by failed and disgraced ex-CEO Shane Radbone TO Shane Radbone and his wife, Victoria Elise.

$1.5 MILLION MISSING - WHO STOLE THE BASKIN ROBBINS AD FUND MONEY?

It's been disclosed that the ACCC is investigating the apparent theft of over $1,500,000. in Baskin Robbins and other Allied Brands franchisee Ad Fund money by Allied Brands management over the last year.

As long noted by franchisees of many of the Allied Brands companies, promised advertising was not being done on behalf of any of the brands. All of the brands (Baskin Robbins, Cookie Man, Awesome Water, Kenny's Cards, etc) contributed large amounts to Ad Funds that are supposed to be held "In Trust" on behalf of the franchisees.

Administrators for Allied Brands, Vincents, have been asked by franchisees for the required audits of the Ad Fund contributions to be produced. To date they have not done so. As previously reported Peter Biazos, administrator at Vincents, was previously employed with ABQ CEO Lachlan McIntosh at Korda Mentha, a huge conflict of interest that the court has not yet ruled on.

Sources with the ACCC and ASIC both indicate that the criminal acts at ABQ are likely to result in up to nine indictments of Allied Brands management including current and former board members as well as general managers for several of the key brands. And this doesn't include the criminal charges that are going to result from the Korean Visa sale scam.

2010 CONGRATULATIONS! SHANE RADBONE, SEAN CORBIN, PETER ELLIGETT, PETER GRAHAM, AND LACHLAN MCINTOSH!! YOU'RE ALL WIENERS!

Esteemed Australian publication SMART COMPANY has named their "Best and Worst of 2010".

It is with great pride and humility that ALLIED BRANDS LTD. is awarded the coveted "WORST COMPANY OF THE YEAR".

In the words of Smart Company:

"The collapse of Allied Brands was one of the sorriest tales to come out of the franchising sector in years. This was a company that had it all – poor management, lax financial discipline, an uncanny ability to over-promise and under-deliver and even an immigration rort. While the company finally went into administration in late October, the jig was really up in late September, when the company’s Cookie Man chain was placed into liquidation by the NSW Supreme Court. Incredibly, Allied Brands claimed it didn’t even know about the liquidation until after it happened, and so wasn’t in court for the hearing."

While clearly this kind of achievement can't be accomplished alone, we must recognize the architects of such a prestigious achievement:

LACHLAN MCINTOSH: The Korda Mentha liquidator/director who was the principal architect of the plans that ran ABQ into the ground, Korda Mentha is so embarrassed and disgusted with his actions they've removed his CV from their website and disavow any knowledge of him. McIntosh is now busy driving other companies into a ditch - his management of the Eureka Group (EGH) is planning to embark on the same franchising strategy that was so successful at Allied Brands!

SEAN CORBIN: A CFO plucked from obscurity by the team in order to "take the fall". With his background of failed companies, he's the Lee Harvey Oswald of financial directors. His career should be well and truly over.

SHANE RADBONE: Ex-athletes are generally good for nothing in business. Radbone proved this time and time again, all the while relentlessly promoting his "successes". Just prior to ABQ he spent six months as CEO of VIP Home Services before the owners there figured out he was Trouble. He spent all his ABQ-paid time spruiking his overhyped CV and arranging "motivational speaking engagements". The ultimate in ABQ window dressing, most directors were stunned when Radbone give himself and wife Victoria Elise a sweetheart loan for shares that are now all but worthless. The Radbone's still refuse to pay up, over $750,000.00! Can someone get some dosh out of the Radbones?

PETER ELLIGETT: Selling Cookie Man to Allied Brands was supposed to be Elligett's cash-out of the Cookie Man business he had been running smoothly. However he's now considered a major player in the Korean/Indian 457 Visa Scam, with dud Cookie Man shops being involved and Elligett's grubby hands all over the dodgy deals.

PETER GRAHAM: Ex-motel owner has a brainstorm on a trip to the USA, let's get Baskin Robbins to give us the Aussie licence. Without even checking him and his slimy brother David out, they grabbed this potential goldmine and then spent 15 years doing what they thought best - screwing the franchisees, the people at the coalface. And let's not forget all the other Graham children who were educated in the "Graham Way" before becoming disgusted with their own parents for pissing away their planned million$$ in inheritance. The Grahams can't even show their faces around their tony Gold Coast friends anymore, they're outcasts and laughingstocks.

Finally, a prestigious award like this shouldn't forget the "little people" who made it all possible. Tony Cavanagh, fired from one ice cream company, his dodgy methods fit right in with the McIntosh/Graham management direction. And let's not forget the employees who've launched sexual harassment and other charges against the "little people". Then two victims of the scam that should have known better - Tom Krulis, formerly "Godfrey's CEO", and Barbara O'Brien, from the Breville family. No one knows what kind of lies these suckers fell for.

As we go into 2011, we're all hoping to start seeing charges lodged against these criminals thanks to the support of publications like Smart Company, Blue Mau Mau, and the Australian Securities and Investment Commission. And let's say a prayer for the dozens, yes DOZENS of hard-working Australians, South Koreans, Indians, and others who had their life savings stolen by this company, and their dreams shattered. Many will never be the same. . . .

COOKIE MAN RESCUED BY AMERICAN MRS. FIELDS WITH ELLIGETT RUMOURED TO BE LIKELY PROSECUTION TARGET

To the relief of Cookie Man franchisees, the Australian arm of Mrs. Fields has assumed control of the Cookie Man group instead of the previously rumoured Indian Cookie Man company.

READ HERE

Peter Elligett, the owner of the Cookie Man brand prior to his sellout to Allied Brands, has been appointed Managing Director although insiders report this is only temporary. Elligett is said to have retained a criminal solicitor for likely defence of charges to be brought by the Department of Migration in the sale of visas and dud franchises to Koreans and Indians.

One of the documented cases of this fraud involved a Cookie Man location at the Sydney Central Train Station. Elligett as general manager for the brand, and Allied Brands director, likely was privy to the scam that was running to defraud migrants to Australia.

THE ALLIED BRANDS RATBAGS RUN, BUT THEY CAN'T HIDE

Senior management at Allied Brands, Baskin Robbins, and Cookie Man are all trying desperately to find other employment, a difficult task considering how many crooked operators it took to take down Allied Brands and these related brands.

One story today about "brand manager" Jack Sakalis is worth watching. Sakalis was among a group of ex-Wendy's executives scraped together by disgraced ex-CEO Sean Corbin who were integral to the colossal failure of these brands. Sakalis was considered the "mystery manager" by most Baskin Robbins franchisees - he's the brand manager NO ONE ever saw. Even his so-called memos were signed by others. IS THIS THE KIND OF EXPERIENCE BEING OFFERED BY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT GROUP?

And yet Sakalis, along with Tony Cavanagh, Brett Amis, and Peter Graham were all apparently in on the 457 Visa scheme which is known to have defrauded South Koreans and Indians expecting a profitable Baskin Robbins or Cookie Man shop, along with their families and children attending Australian schools.

You've got to wonder if his new partners at Business Development Company are aware of how much trouble it will be as criminal charges are laid by the Commonwealth against those who were defrauding these franchisees and the government?

ADMINISTRATOR STALLING CREDITORS MEETING, ABQ BOOKS A SHELL GAME, CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS CONTINUE

Reports this morning indicate administrators from Vincents Accountants in Brisbane (one of whom is a former workmate of Allied Brands chairman Lachlan McIntosh) have asked a Queensland Supreme Court to "delay" their second creditors meeting over a month, to at the earliest January 19, 2011.

Vincents have told the court "The investigations to date revealed the company's affairs are intertwined with Allied Brands Group, which, in turn, has around 26 subsidiaries from which numerous inter-company transactions and loans have ensued", they said in a statement on Monday.

It's called "the old shell game", Vincents. It's what corrupt companies do to try and hide all their illegal activities - moving money from place to place so that no one can figure out what's going on.

Vincents would seem to have little experience in forensic auditing of companies this large that have failed due to criminal activity.

So why are they continuing their attempts to unravel this debacle? The court needs to look at appointing an administrator with greater experience and fewer ties to the company they're investigating!

Company debts are now said to run over $19 million, over double from the company's original statements.

As Allied is essentially now not running as a company, with most of the employees sacked, we don't have so much inside information coming into the blog now. However we're aware that the ASIC and ASX have wide-ranging investigations of the directors and other "insiders" running.

And perhaps administrators are now chasing the $750k "sweetheart loan" from Allied Brands (when Shane Radbone was CEO) to Shane Radbone and Victoria Elise Radbone. This loan is unpaid, in default, and was by many accounts likely illegal when it was made. It was made at the same time ABQ stopped paying employee entitlements and superannuation.

How about it Shane and Victoria, where's our dosh? What about the hardworking employees of this corrupt company? Do they deserve to be swindled, too?

ALLIED BRANDS (ABQ) ADMINISTRATOR REPORT CONTINUES TRADITION OF A COMPANY OF LYING ARSEHOLES

Administrators Peter Dinoris and Peter Biazos of Vincents Accountants have filed their first report with the ASX regarding Allied Brands (ABQ) and related companies.

Questions in this report are rampant.

• "Winding Up" proceedings have been filed by a vendor known as "Coco Design Investments", an action that may make the rest of these proceedings irrelevant.

• The "background" section, said to be from CEO Sean Corbin (although there is no record of Corbin being appointed to anything but interim CEO) lists numbers of shops owned and franchised radically different from the annual report. The new reference to Corbin as CEO may signal the director's sleazy plan to dump everything in his lap. Wonder how that works out with the criminal charges coming for the "Korean Visa Scam" that happened prior to Corbin's arrival!

• Registered charges show, as previously alleged, a relationship with PPK Group Ltd. director Raymond Beath that is a likely conflict of interest with the ABQ investment by PPK.

• The "Declaration of Independence" filed by Vincents makes no mention of Peter Biazos being employed by Korda Mentha Brisbane co-incident with ABQ Chairman Lachlan McIntosh. This stinks.

• The Administrators have hired Andrew Crook at "Crook Publicity" for media releases. Some things are too funny for words. Do these Crooks need any more publicity?

Clearly the deception continues all the way to the grave.