Olympic swimming champion Neil Brooks and his wife were ordered to stand trial for an alleged multimillion dollar scam more than five years after being charged.
Brooks, 60, and his wife Linda are charged with using false statements to persuade Glenn Melcheck and his wife to pay nearly $2 million and acquire 50% of their sports goods business in 2008.
Many months later, the business folded.
Chris Wilson, the defence attorney for Brooks, asserted on Wednesday that the prosecution’s case was flawed and that his clients had no case to answer.
He claimed that among them was Melcheck’s assertion that he had mostly relied on his accountant when deciding to invest in a different civil court matter.
Melcheck claimed he had also leaned on chats with the Brooks and an investment proposition that was provided to him at a late 2022 committal hearing, nevertheless.
In a meeting to propose investing in their business in early 2008, Linda Brooks allegedly made false promises about having contacts with European sports teams including Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester United, according to Melcheck, who testified during the committal.
On Wednesday, Wilson claimed that although Melcheck’s accountant was crucial to the Brooks case, he had declined to testify and had not been summoned by the Crown.
However, Magistrate Peter Saggers declared on Wednesday that Brooks and his wife will have a strong case to go to trial in Brisbane District Court at a later date.
The Brooks and Melchecks met several times after being referred to one another by a third party in late 2007 before signing a contract at the end of January, the committal was informed.
Before finalising the sale in February, the Melchecks made a $50,000 deposit only a few days later.
“It cost $2,000,000. The fact that you would pay so much money in just a few weeks amazed me, Saggers said on Wednesday.
Months later, the company went under.
The committal was informed that Brooks’ nose was fractured two years later after being jumped on the Gold Coast by bikers hired by his former business partner Melcheck.
The police did not get a written statement from Melcheck regarding the alleged fraud until March 2016.
Wednesday, after being ordered to stand trial and granted bail, Brooks and his wife entered a not guilty plea.
Before becoming a well-known TV sports commentator, Brooks gained notoriety as a member of Australia’s dominant “Mean Machine” freestyle relay squad that won the 4x100m medley gold at the 1980 Olympics.
