A former Australian Olympic swimmer and his wife say they are "very confident" multimillion dollar business fraud charges, levelled against them from more than a decade ago, will be dropped in court.
Neil and Linda Brooks are each charged with one count of fraud by dishonestly inducing delivery of property to the value of, or over, $5,000.
Mr Brooks anchored the Australian medley relay which won gold at the 1980 Moscow Olympics and was a member of the famous "Mean Machine" quartet at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, also winning gold.
It is alleged in 2008 Mr and Ms Brooks made dishonest representations about the success of their sports merchandise business, in order to induce two investors to purchase a 50 per cent stake in the company.
During a committal hearing on Wednesday, the Brisbane Magistrates Court heard Glen and Carole Melcheck agreed to pay $2 million.
This was made up of a $1.65 million purchase price, with an agreement between the parties the remainder would go toward working capital for the business.
The court heard the pair had signed an agreement with the Brooks in late January of 2008 in good faith, and paid a $50,000 deposit in the days after, before later agreeing to the full settlement.
Mr Melcheck gave evidence in person about how he became involved in the business, conversations he had with the Brooks and a business proposal he received, before completing the purchase.
He told the court in early January of 2008, a friend of his, who also knew the Brooks, mentioned they had an investment opportunity.
"He said, 'I've got this business … I believe you might be interested in'," he said.
"There was no big detail."
The court heard Mr Melcheck originally told police that some days after this he had a meeting with his friend and the couple.
This is when he said Ms Brooks allegedly made false comments about already having "established relationships" with European sporting teams including "Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain," the court heard.
Under cross examination it was put to Mr Melcheck by defence lawyer Chris Wilson, Ms Brooks was out of the country for the entire month of January, so he could not have had these conversations with her before he paid the deposit.
Mr Melcheck conceded these conversations must have occurred after the deposit was paid, but could not recall when.
"I had those actual conversations with Neil and Linda — we did have more than one meeting," he said.
When asked if he knew it was "not an established business" yet, before he agreed to buy-in, Mr Melcheck told the court he did not.
He said he believed it was already an "actual operating business" due to documents he was provided.
"Definitely not a start-up," he said.
The court heard the business failed in July 2008, and around this time the Melchecks withdrew just over $70,000 from the company account, but they were later sued by the Brooks and ordered to repay the money.
Brooks assaulted in car park
Mr Wilson told the court, two years later, Mr Brooks was assaulted and threatened in a Gold Coast carpark by "two bikies" who were with Mr Melcheck.
When questioned about this incident, Mr Melcheck denied knowing the pair were involved in an outlaw motorcycle gang, telling the court he hired them from a "debt collection agency".
He also said he never saw Mr Brooks being assaulted.
"I didn't witness him being punched," he said.
"I remember him running across the carpark and him tripping."
Mr Melcheck agreed at the time he presented Mr Brooks with "blank" withdrawal forms from the business but denied he heard one of the men threaten to kill him if he did not sign them.
"I can't remember him saying that … I didn't hear it," he said.
"I gave them to him … to see if he would sign the withdrawal forms in relation to the existing funds."
The court heard the police were called, and the three men were charged with public nuisance. Mr Melcheck later pleaded guilty.
Mr Wilson said in 2012 Mr Melcheck then approached Channel Nine about the fraud allegations, who later did a story on Mr Brooks, in an attempt to get "the media to hound him".
When it was put to Mr Melcheck that at this point, he had not made a complaint to police about the alleged fraud he told the court: "I contacted Surfers Paradise police way before that."
However, Mr Melcheck could not recall when this was or which officer he spoke to.
The court heard he had not provided a written statement to police until March 2016.
'They made out it was a good business'
Before this, in 2014, the Melchecks attempted to sue their accountant at the time of the sale, for being negligent in his provision of due diligence but the claim failed, the court heard.
Ms Melcheck also took the stand and agreed with Mr Wilson that she had relied on her husband and their accountant to make the decisions about buying the business.
"Yes that's correct," she said.
When asked if she placed any reliance on anything the Brooks had told her, she said: "Yes, they made out it was a good business".
Karl Farmer, the accountant for the Brooks' business at the time, gave evidence telling the court he met with the Melchecks in February of 2008 and took detailed notes of their discussions.
The court heard, during the meeting Mr Farmer said to the pair, "I can't believe that you're about to conclude a $2 million dollar Australian transaction with no legal representation and on the basis of, the only documentation in existence, the share transfer".
Mr Farmer also agreed that Mr Melcheck said to him in reply: "Our lawyer has looked at it … and we are happy to settle."
Stephen Chalker, the man who introduced the two couples, also gave evidence, along with two others who dealt with the design aspect of the company.
Brooks 'really confident'
Mr Brooks spoke outside court before proceedings.
After returning from overseas to face the charges, he said he was "happy to be back in Australia".
"This has been 14 years that we've waited to finally tell our side of the story in a court of law," he said.
"I'm really confident once people see the evidence and the facts that are going to be rolled out today with our legal team that I'll be clear of all these charges."
When asked if he felt anxious about the charges not being dismissed, and instead committed to trial he said: "Never say never".
"You prepare for the worst and hope for the best — but we're very confident … We know what happened, we were there," he said.
The hearing continues.
