The owner of an electrical company has been sentenced to 240 hours of unpaid community work for using deception to obtain council funds.
It followed an investigation by the state’s anti-corruption watchdog IBAC, codenamed Operation Topi, into allegations of improper procurement practices at Frankston City Council.
Council’s former manager was sent to jail in relation to the same investigation last October.
The owner of the company, Aiden Magnik, pleaded guilty to obtaining property by deception in the Melbourne County court last Friday and was sentenced to a community corrections order for two years and 240 hours of unpaid community work.
Former Frankston City Council manager Andrew Williamson received a 12 month jail term and a 30-month Community Corrections Order on three charges including obtaining property worth $461,000 by deception and attempting to obtain property by deception to the amount of $65,530.
Operation Topi was initiated by IBAC following a mandatory notification from Frankston City.
It is a mandatory requirement for all heads of Victorian public sector departments and agencies, including council CEOs, to notify IBAC of any suspected corruption.
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