Sacked Dubber CEO and trail of debts revealed
Sacked ASX-listed Dubber chief executive Steve McGovern has been embroiled in a string of historical legal disputes, involving allegations he failed to pay back business and personal loans.
It comes after the software company announced it will continue to search for a missing $26.6m allegedly misused by Mr McGovern and lawyer Mark Madafferi of Christopher William Legal, who have been ordered by the Federal Court not to leave the country while the corporate cop investigates.
The Australian can also reveal Christopher William Legal has acted for Mr McGovern in 2017, once in a dispute involving claims a company he is the director of failed to pay back a $525,500 loan before the case was discontinued.
The North Melbourne law firm also acted for Mr McGovern when he was sued in 2017 for more than $5.6m amid claims he defaulted on a separate mortgage. That matter was discontinued as well.
Historical court documents obtained by The Australian show Dubber Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the ASXlisted Dubber Corporation, was sued in 2015 by Caason Group after its founder Craig Astill claimed Mr McGovern and another man “failed, refused and or neglected to pay” back $30,000 borrowed for wages.
The request for money was oral and made to Mr Astill at his office on Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne, by Mr McGovern and Peter Slaney – an “agent” of Dubber, Caason claimed – on or about 12 December 2013, the court documents said.
Software company Dubber started trading on the ASX in December 2014 via the backdoor listing of Crucible Gold.
The company denied the loan was for Dubber, and claimed it was for a group of companies called My 1300 Group to satisfy a wage bill, court documents said.
Mr Slaney, in his capacity as one of three controllers of My 1300 Group, asked the inhouse legal counsel for Caason, Richard Flory, for the money “to satisfy a wage bill” according to Dubber’s defence paper.
Mr Astill demanded Dubber repay the money on January 22, 2014, but Dubber claimed it had “no legal obligation to make payment to the plaintiff”, according to its defence document.
Caason Group claimed Mr McGovern and Mr Slaney told Mr Astill’s company he would “personally guarantee the repayment of any monies the plaintiff lent to Dubber”.
Mr McGovern and Mr Slaney denied they agreed to pay interest or other costs associated with the loan, and in their defence claimed they offered to repay the $30,000 but Caason Group refused to accept it.
Mr Astill declined to comment when contacted.