CONTROVERSIAL Maitland accountant Michael Unicomb is trying to stave off bankruptcy, hoping creditors owed more than $40 million will accept less than one cent in the dollar at a meeting in Brisbane tomorrow.
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Mr Unicomb has faced a number of court actions in recent years as former clients have tried to recover funds from a variety of failed investments.
Two of his former partners, Sydney man Glenn Arthur Freeman and Hunter man Warren Turner, have been declared bankrupt but Mr Unicomb is continuing to fight.
The Herald understands he may not be able to continue practising as an accountant if he is forced into bankruptcy.
The April Fool's Day meeting in Brisbane is to be held at the offices of insolvency practitioner Jonathan McLeod, with whose firm Mr Unicomb has had a long association.
Mr Unicomb recruited Mr McLeod to assist in the wash-up of the failure of the controversial Bay Building group of companies and, more recently, the Excellence building group.
Some of Mr Unicomb's creditors have expressed anger at the short notice of the meeting, complaining that Hunter creditors will be unlikely to travel to Brisbane in time to vote against the accountant's debt proposal.
In a letter to creditors, Trevor Schmierer of McLeod and Associates has listed 37 unsecured creditors allegedly owed nearly $45 million.
The letter states that if creditors agree to Mr Unicomb's proposed "personal insolvency agreement" a "third party", David Dixon, would provide $50,000 to be divided among creditors. A David Dixon is listed in the letter as an unsecured creditor, allegedly owed about $1 million.
Mr Schmierer notes that a number of Mr Unicomb's affairs have not yet been fully investigated. If he was bankrupted it was possible that some investigations might result in a higher return.
Creditors who have spoken to The Herald have complained that the amounts owed to them appear to have been understated, possibly affecting their voting rights.
Mr Unicomb lists family members and business associates among his creditors.
The biggest creditor appears to be a Malaysian company, Ezy Pro Consulting Sdn Bhd, which may be linked to a failed South Australian real estate deal in which some of Mr Unicomb's clients lost large sums of money.
Newcastle lawyer Richard Murphy, who represents a number of Mr Unicomb's former accounting clients, said he would be seeking an adjournment of the meeting.
"My clients believe the notice of the meeting is too short and that since a majority of creditors are based in NSW the meeting should not be held so far away," Mr Murphy said.
"My clients are concerned about the bona fides of some of the alleged debts and want more time to ensure that only those creditors who are genuinely entitled to vote on this proposal are permitted to have a say in the outcome.
"To my certain knowledge the creditor details are inaccurate and I'm accordingly concerned at the effect this may have on the legitimacy of any vote taken on Thursday.
"The trustee has drawn attention to a number of matters that appear to warrant further investigation and my clients believe those investigations should take place before any arrangement is approved."
Neither Mr Unicomb nor Mr Schmierer were available for comment.
