Trustee replaced in search for paedophile’s assets

It’s a bankruptcy capable of generating gigawatts of positive publicity for an enterprising trustee.

The bankrupt’s a convicted sex offender. The majority creditor is the offender’s victim. A court’s awarded that victim $5.3 million in damages and the bankrupt’s a retired pathology practice manager known for his support of the arts.

Anyone ever heard of an arts patron who wasn’t lavish with the readies whenever they had readies to be lavish with? Neither has iNO.

In this case however, the opportunity to benefit from any positive publicity that a chase for artworks and other assets might generate has been stripped from the incumbent in what might be a prime example of that phenomenon of creditor prejudice adhering to any appointee nominated by a debtor.

The incumbent in this instance was SV Partners Victoria boss Michael Carrafa, who consented to act as the trustee of John Wayne Millwood earlier this year.

In December 2016 Millwood, 76 of Launceston in Tasmania, was sentenced to four years’ jail with a non-parole period of two years after he pleaded guilty to one count of maintaining a sexual relationship with a young person.

After his victim commenced civil proceedings a court in December last year ordered Millwood to pay his victim $5.3m in damages – a ­record payout by an Australian court.

When Millwood declined to pay and appeared to be divesting himself of assets the victim – referred to in the court proceedings as ZAB – filed a creditors petition in the Federal Court.

ZAB then discovered that Millwood had already had himself declared bankrupt via a debtor’s petition accepted by AFSA on July 21, 2022.

Having already obtained a consent to act from Sheahan and Locke Partners’ John Sheahan, ZAB, who holds 99 per cent of the debt, had Carrafa convene a meeting on September 16 at SV Partners’ offices in Melbourne.

Carrafa was replaced without objection by Sheahan and our mail is that holding publicity generating public examinations is a high priority for the new trustee.