Herald Sun story tomorrow about Essendon approaching Mick Gatto about helping clear up the saga mess…
Ex-Essendon bosses covered up alleged healthcare rebate fraud, two former staff members claimMichael Warner, Herald Sun
February 8, 2017 12:00amTWO Essendon staff members claim that previous club bosses covered up an alleged healthcare rebate fraud.
Dean Wallis, who played in the Bombers’ 1993 and 2000 premiership sides, and long-serving football department assistant John Elliott allege in signed statements that a financial scam was masterminded by one of the club’s senior staff.
In a statement given to a compensation claim investigator in January, Mr Wallis says he reported a medical provider to club bosses after players had flagged concerns rebates had been claimed for consultations he had not held with them.
“Players hadn’t seen (name removed for legal reasons) but he had taken the players’ full rebate amount, which made the players extremely angry,” Mr Wallis says.
He adds that he had raised the issue up to 10 times and claims he was repeatedly told: “It’s all above board. It’s ‘corridor consultation. Keep your nose out of it’. I continued to raise my concerns until I was terminated in October 2013.’’
Mr Elliott also says he became aware of the alleged fraud in August-September 2012, and was told: “Never speak of the issue again.”
In one exchange with management, Mr Wallis says: “(Chief executive) Mr Ian Robson stood up and verbally abused me in (an) aggressive manner and stated words to the effect of ‘I’m more red and black than you will ever be’, ‘Who do you think you are?’, ‘You will only ever eventuate to being a bush-hack coach’.
“Mr Robson was yelling and swearing at me for approximately two to three minutes.”
Mr Elliott alleges he was told in August 2015 he would likely be contacted by a WorkSafe investigator over the supplements program, which ran from late 2011 into the 2012 season. He alleges he was told: “It would be in my best interests not to say anything.”
The statements were given by Mr Wallis and Mr Elliott to an investigator acting on behalf of insurance broker Gallagher Bassett.
The two men declared: “This statement made by me accurately sets out the evidence which I would be prepared, if necessary, to give in court as a witness … I make it knowing that, if it is tendered in evidence, I shall be liable to prosecution if I have wilfully stated anything in it which I know to be false or do not believe to true.’’
Gallagher Bassett has since ruled that the claims did not warrant WorkSafe payouts, but did not pass judgment on the validity of the allegations.
Mr Elliott is appealing the decision to the Accident Compensation Conciliation Service, while Mr Wallis is assessing his options
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EFC Hit LIST
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Fat Vlad
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Giligan
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Dank, (Attempt failed)
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Clothier
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The Hag
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Fatprick
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David Cunbert
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Whoever “Sarah” was …
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Others TBA
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Sounds like Robson was a super flog.
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Bombers accused of asking Mick Gatto to help fix doping messMichael Warner, Herald Sun
22 minutes agoESSENDON is fighting damning new allegations that club bosses reached out to underworld enforcer Mick Gatto, removed injections regimen emails, and covered up cocaine use, sexual harassment and fraud.
Dual Bombers premiership hero Dean Wallis and ex-team services manager John Elliott have made the explosive claims as they pursue WorkSafe compensation actions against the club.
Mr Wallis, a former Dons assistant coach and team services and logistics manager, alleges in his statement: “I have been scapegoated in relation to the supplement program, while others at the club have been covering up the use of cocaine, sexual harassment and fraudulent behaviour.”
Essendon is fighting damning new allegations that club bosses reached out to underworld enforcer Mick Gatto.
Dual Essendon premiership hero Dean Wallis is pursuing WorkSafe compensation actions against the club.
Essendon hit back on Wednesday night, dubbing the pair “disgruntled employees” and saying it had contacted police over false claims.
In a signed statement, seen by the Herald Sun, Mr Elliott accuses a senior Bombers official of asking him to arrange a meeting with Gatto in the hope he could help the club extract information relating to the drugs scandal.
“In November 2014 I was asked … to set up a meeting off-site with Mr Mick Gatto, who was an external well-known dispute resolution specialist,’’ Mr Elliott alleges.
“The purpose of the meeting was in regard to obtaining information from Mr Shane Charter, who was a supplier to Mr Stephen Dank,” Mr Elliott alleges.
Charter, a key witness in the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority’s case against the Essendon 34, at the last minute decided not to give evidence to the AFL anti-doping tribunal.
Contacted on Wednesday, Gatto said: “I can’t help you, mate.”
Essendon chairman Lindsay Tanner said on Wednesday night: “Two disgruntled ex-employees have made a number of false and unsubstantiated allegations against the club. For example, allegations of (name removed for legal reasons) having dealings with Mick Gatto are false. Inappropriate demands and threats made upon Essendon Football Club have been reported to the AFL Integrity Department and on its advice, Victoria Police have been contacted.
“The workers’ compensation claims made by both former employees have been rejected by WorkCover.”
Mr Elliott claims in his statement that his personal workplace email was accessed without his knowledge weeks after ASADA began its investigation of Essendon’s supplements regimen, and correspondence was removed.
And he says he saw club staff “self-injecting” drugs at Windy Hill in January 2012.
The allegations are detailed in formal statements made by the pair to an insurance company assessing their claims for compensation due to stress and anxiety caused by the club.
Mr Elliott, who was made redundant in November after seven years, says: “In January 2012, I suffered stress as a result of witnessing staff … self-injecting, and Mr Stephen Dank, a club pharmacologist, injecting staff and players.”
He said: “This was not a normal regime … The issue was then reported to (name removed for legal reasons). Feedback was that management could not terminate Mr Dank because of the cost of breaking his contract. This made me feel stressed and worried for the players’ wellbeing.”
He also claims an invoice of $68,000 from Hypermed in South Yarra for amino acid injections and use of the hyperbaric chamber was mistakenly sent to his father, who shares his name. The invoice had been put in his name without his knowledge, he says.
Regarding the emails he says disappeared, Mr Elliott asserts: “Approximately three weeks after the investigation commenced, my personal workplace email was accessed by an unknown person/s and any relevant emails to the investigation were deleted from my email account.
“Any documents on the system that were relevant to the investigation were deleted and all of the hard copy invoices relevant to the $68,000 debt were taken from my desk.”
Well, my opinion of Dean Wallis isn’t being helped by those two articles.
Fark, they aren’t great for us at all 
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This can only go well…
You forgot
Cercie
Ilyn Payne
And the mountain
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Not good for the club but fark it.
If somehow Robson gets put on the stand to explain what the hell was going on with Dank, possible Medicare fraud, deleting of emails and hiding of invoices then it might crack it all open.
As CEO the entire debacle should have rested on his shoulders but instead he got to slink off pre-penalties to be CEO of Melb victory without one iota of scrutiny coming his way.
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Is this bullsh1t ever going to end ?
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Cocaine use, well that’s an allegation too far. Someone might want to crack the f$@ckers.
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Who did wallis report to?
That’s a doozy of an allegation being danced around in these paragraphs.
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Must be close to the new season starting. Wonder what they’ll cook up next season…
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Why the fark did we hire John Elliott?
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This all sounds familiar from information in blitz circa 2013, although it has been rehashed to fit a compensation narrative.
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Cocaine use…pfft. First strike.
Paul Hamilton, I believe.
How about Robson saying he’s more red and black than a dual premiership player! LOL!! (Not that I’m very fond of Mr Wallis at the moment.)
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Allways read a lot of complaints around how the weapon was looked after post saga. Articles like this are why he was looked after.
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