VICTORIA, Australia (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Australian promoter Glenn Wheatley has been given permission to appeal the thirty month vacation he received as a result of his conviction on tax fraud.
According to the Australian press, Justice Alex Chernov ruled in favor of Wheatley after determining that there were enough technical points to merit consideration of the appeal, in particular, the sentence structure and a failure by the judge who originally carried out the sentencing to cleave to recent changes in the laws. The maximum sentence for one of the charges had recently been cut from 10 to 5 years.
Wheatley, who formerly managed singer John Farnham, had been convicted of tax fraud after avoiding $318,092 in taxes and an unknown amount owed to creditors. He was the first victim of "Operation Wickenby," an effort undertaken by the Australian government to pursue offshore tax havens. Wheatley, perhaps a traditionalist, had been socking away his loot with a Swiss firm that specialized in overseas transactions to disguise income.
This appeal may not be all that Wheatley hopes it will be. The Justice was careful to note , reported The Age, that "It is appropriate to note that (in) re-sentencing, this court has the power to increase a sentence." – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
