Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au

Aaron Bunch
Ex-staffers charged with Qld college fraud

Four former senior staffers from a private college south of Brisbane have been charged with a raft of serious fraud offences.

September 17, 2019

A former principal and his family siphoned $4.6 million from a private school south of Brisbane so they could buy expensive artwork and fund luxury trips to Europe and Asia, a court has been told.

Paul Thomson, 75, was arrested on Tuesday morning at his Carbrook home and charged with six offences including fraud, extortion and making a false declaration.

Three other members of his family, who were also employed at the school, were arrested at the same time and also face similar charges.

Police allege Thomson and his relatives worked together to defraud the Logan-based Kimberley College of about $4.6 million between 2012 and 2018.

The alleged fraud was uncovered after the Department of Education alerted police to serious concerns about the facility in August 2018.

Thomson applied for bail on Tuesday afternoon, appearing in Brisbane Magistrates Court.

His barrister, Tony Morris QC, described the charges as “utterly outrageous” and said they were brought about by a school that “had an axe to grind” with his client.

However, police prosecutor Sergeant Josh Kelly said the fraud was “significant” and involved the grandfather and his family using school money without approval.

Sgt Kelly said Thomson used the money to fund a $350,000 trip to the United Kingdom and Finland in 2016, took a $60,000 trip to China in 2017, and spent more than $459,000 on a luxury holiday to Dubai, Spain and Sweden in 2018.

He said Thomson also lied in a court affidavit about how he obtained an $11,000 Darcy Doyle painting, saying it was a gift from the school.

Sgt Kelly said there was evidence his daughter Amy Ferguson, 35, who was the school’s chief financial officer until 2018, actually bought it on eBay using school money.

The court heard Thomson and Ferguson are also accused of interrogating a 14-year-old female student for hours after she complained about inappropriate text messages sent to her by his grandson.

He is accused of taking the phone and trying to delete the messages before expelling her.

Thomson and Ferguson were granted bail on a number of conditions including reporting to police four and three days per week respectively.

They must not contact the school or any former or current students or board members.

Ferguson is also prohibited from using social media to contact witnesses likely to appear in the court proceedings.

Her 34-year-old husband, Kevin Ferguson, was denied bail because prosecutors considered him a flight risk after finding a text message on his phone saying he’d been offered job at a soccer club in London.

A 66-year-old woman has been given a notice to appear at a later date.

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