Crashes and court
Alleged boiler room fraud ties of drivers in two smashes
TWO men in separate Gold Coast car crashes days apart have both faced court for alleged involvement in “boiler room” frauds.
On August 14, Nigel McWilliams, 52, was rushed to Gold Coast University Hospital with life-threatening injuries after he flipped his luxury convertible outside Southport Fire Station.
Just days later, on Thursday, Chris Pappas (right), 34, was involved in a high-speed crash in Bundall, where his $330,000 McLaren supercar burst into flames. Mr Pappas, a race car driver, and his female passenger were pulled from the wreckage by bystanders before it exploded. They were taken to hospital.
Mr McWilliams has been in a coma in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and it is understood he’s been shifted to another ward. His family took to social media in the aftermath of the crash last Monday, asking for “healing thoughts”.
McWilliams and two co-accused, Gerard Darmody and Ruth Elaine Sullivan, faced Southport District Court in 2019 over their involvement in an illegal betting company, Betjack, allegedly run by Jack and John Doumani.
The trio – McWilliams, Darmody and Sullivan – all pleaded guilty to the littleused charge of unlawful bookmaking other than by racing bookmakers between March 12, 2013 and May 9, 2015.
No conviction was recorded and the trio were each fined $1500. The Doumanis are facing a string of charges over an alleged $59m “boiler room” scam – one of the biggest in Queensland’s history – which included companies Charterhurst Agencies Pty Ltd and others police claim were selling sports betting software. Jack Doumani is facing 39 fraud charges and son John is facing 34 charges, which they are defending.
Mr Pappas was arrested in 2016 over his alleged links to the “boiler room” syndicate, where police will allege he was an office manager for companies involved in the complex scam. In 2016, he was arrested and charged with five counts of fraud.
As part of an investigation codenamed Operation North Hurricane, police seized luxury cars, a jet ski and computers in raids and arrested five people, including the Doumanis and Mr Pappas. A pre-trial hearing is due to be held in Southport District Court in December.
On Thursday night, Mr Pappas and his passenger Krystle Earsman, 31, were dragged from the wreckage of the $330,000 vehicle by bystanders moments before it exploded after the crash at Bundall.
Mr Pappas suffered multiple fractures and burns. A Gold Coast police spokesman said the driver lost control about 10pm while exiting a roundabout and hit a power pole, which snapped from the base. Queensland Ambulance Service senior operations supervisor Adam Flory said when paramedics arrived a man and a woman were lying on the road. He said bystanders pulled them from the car.
“These people have done a great job at putting themselves in harm’s way to save these people,” he said.
For Mr Pappas, Energex are reportedly looking at sending him a bill in excess of $30,000 for damage to power poles and lines.
Mr Pappas is a driver in the TA2 Muscle Car Series, based on America’s legendary Trans-Am Series. He was due to race at the weekend at Queensland Raceway, according to www.speedcafe.com.