PRESS RELEASE: News Conference: Victims of the $18.5 million Sterling First outside WA Supreme Court
Aisha Novakovich, Australian Citizens Party WA Senate candidate and Dennis Ryle, organiser of
the Victims of Sterling First will hold a news conference outside the WA Supreme Court on
Wednesday 16 April 2025. They will speak after a hearing for three executives of Sterling First,
Raymond Jones, founder of Sterling Group, director Simon Bell; and Ryan Jones, who is the son of
Raymond Jones, who are facing multiple criminal charges over what has been alleged to be a Ponzi
scheme with at least 130 victims.
The victims are angered that, whilst in opposition, the current federal Labor government made
promises immediately before the 2022 federal election to assist the Victims of Sterling in recovering
part of their lost monies through the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR). That promise has
not been kept.
Victims have been financially crippled by what has been called a Ponzi Scheme, with life savings gone
and some having been evicted from their homes unable to pay bills.
What: News conference over government inaction to compensate Sterling First victims and continual criminal prosecution
delays robbing victims of justice
Where: WA Supreme Court Building, 28 Barrack St, Perth WA 6000
When: 9:00am *hearing expected to conclude before 10am
Who: Citizens Party senate candidate and Victims of Stirling First financial scandal
MEDIA CONTACTS: Aisha Novakovich (Australian Citizens Party WA senate candidate) – 0422 475 267
Robert Barwick (Australian Citizens Party Research Director) – 0409 014 265
The Australian Citizens Party is an independent, federally-registered political party, founded in 1988. It is committed to policies that promote the economic development of Australia for the benefit of all its people, not just the vested corporate interests which have too much influence over the major political parties. It takes its inspiration from the "old Labor" party stalwarts including King O'Malley, who fought to establish Australia's national bank, the Commonwealth Bank, and John Curtin and Ben Chifley, who used the Commonwealth Bank to lead the economic mobilisation that saved Australia in WWII. The ACP fought against the privatisation of the Commonwealth Bank, which has concentrated financial power in Australia in the Big Four banking oligopoly that gouges short-term profits at the expence of Australians and the nation's economic development, and is campaigning to re-establish a national bank, modelled on the old Commonwealth Bank, as a government post office bank which would guarantee face-to-face banking services, and access to cash, for all communities, and break the Big Four banking oligopoly.
