Sydney School Formal Scam Leaves 15 Schools Out of Pocket

NSW Police and Fair Trading were hunting the operators of a school-formal company that vanished owing a six-figure sum — most of it collected in cash from school leavers, as reported by the Sydney Morning Herald.

Students from at least 15 schools, including PLC Croydon, Danebank, Monte Sant'Angelo, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College and Mosman High, lost money paid for formals and after-parties. Sums of up to $20,000 per school had been collected in cash by the companies Yourformal and Yourafterparty, which recruited students as representatives and paid them commissions for signing their schools up.

The two people sought were named as Sameer Kapoor, 26, and Amrita Kerr, 32.

Don Jones, Fair Trading's assistant commissioner for compliance and enforcement, described the operation bluntly: "These people have designed the scam to keep themselves away from the paper trail and put other people in front of it." Payments went through a website with no standard contract, he said — "you just basically put your money in a hole in the wall and hope something comes out the other side."

One of the student organizers, Chloe De Ville of Mosman High — whose year 12 formal never happened despite more than $18,000 paid — said the company's pitch was formals "organised for young people by young people," cutting out schools and parents. A former worker, Joe Mekhael, said he was owed money for months while being strung along with promises it would be paid "tomorrow."

Fair Trading's advice was aimed at the real lesson of the case: cash payments for big events, no written contract, and a company with no verifiable track record is a combination that should stop any organizer cold — whatever their age.