Repeat rip-off returns with half-finished job and more unpaid debts | A Current Affair

Old habits die hard, and some people in life just struggle to find an honest way to make a living.Daniel Clarke, he's one of them.He has a history of ripping off charities, even veterans.Now it's tradies, and one of his own employees.

Daniel Clark is a 37 -year -old former bankrupt with a long history of failing to pay his debts.The one -time plumber's latest project, this bar under construction in the heart of Surfers Paradise.The bar is called Somewhere Good, but right now it's just a half -finished, messy job site left behind by fed -up tradies whose payments are somewhere else.

We're out here to do work in good faith and get people's jobs done for them the best we can.And it hurts, it does hurt.Brandon Cunningham is the builder who was brought in to lead the project at the last minute.Some nights we were knocking off at midnight, trying to get this thing, race this thing in for his deadline, get it open up and running for him.

It was going to be a self -serve bar.Daniel Clarke is director and secretary of the company behind it, Omnia Hospitality Group, along with influencer and lingerie model Lily Eastwood, who's become the public face of the project.

So as you can see right now, it's all concrete, lies, plans.Soon this whole place is going to be transformed into something moody.something intimate, something a little unexpected.

Unexpected alright.Brandon and his fellow tradies were in some of those Instagram videos, no doubt.expecting to get paid for their hard work.

At the start we were quite nice about it.I just wanted to work with him.I wanted to get this thing done for him.

Brandon sent two separate invoices to Daniel Clark for work that began almost two months ago.It is still waiting for $41 ,000 to be paid.What sort of an impact does it have for a small business to be missing $41 ,000 in pay?

Massive.Absolutely massive.It encompasses our total revenue.It pays our boys.It gets people up in the morning to come work for us.It's our reputation.

Sadly, Brandon isn't the only tradie still waiting.

The guy's full of promises, so a bit of a delusional character.And it hurts.

Dylan Saliba did the air conditioning work and is chasing $10 ,000.And what sort of, like, stories has he been telling you when you've been trying to get paid?

Just promising, yeah, yeah, you'll have five grand, you'll have five grand, and just getting nothing.And then he just goes quiet.

Everything in the book.I mean, there was one day he actually looked us in the eyes and said, he's paid us.It'll be in there the next day.And here we are a month later, it still hasn't appeared.

Kyle Healy is waiting for $6 ,000 for painting work.

I'm the only guy in my business so you know there's no one working on other jobs to cover the cost so it's you know you drop a bunch of work to get here and help someone out that you think's a mate and this is how they treat you in return.

Trying to catch up with Daniel Clark isn't easy but we eventually spotted him down the road from his bar.

Hi Daniel, Dan Nolan from A Current Affair, how are you?Not bad.You're ripping people off again are you?What are you talking about?Letter of demand for $41 ,000 to tradies?No, that's between our lawyers.

He claims his legal team is disputing the unpaid debts.Why don't you just pay your debts and you wouldn't have any of this trouble, would you?Why don't you get onto both sides of the story?

We are professionals working on this right now and this is like entirely unprofessional to name and shame against it.

The professionals he claims are disputing the debt is architecture firm DBI which has a Gold Coast office located right above where the bar is being constructed.It's also where his father works as an architect.So what, you're going to dispute it?

You're not going to pay?You can go up and you can talk to DBI about it.

That's another lie.A DBI spokesperson says the company has nothing to do with Daniel Clark's mess.

Who do you think is going to want to drink at your bar when it's spilled on the sweat of unpaid tradies?That's fine.We're dealing with it amicably and through the legal matters.That doesn't seem very amicable.

All these tradies want to get paid.

Well, that's fine.You can keep going on in the loop, mate, and saying the same **** again.

But the person who seems to be stuck on a loop is Daniel Clark.Daniel, Daniel, Chris Allen from the Carrot Affair, mate.Can we have a word?In 2019, he was exposed as the plumber on a pushy, masquerading as a fundraiser, ripping off veterans charity Red 6, run by former soldier Mike Handley.Delusional.You know, he's a chronic liar.

On that day, Clark ducked for cover inside a garage, refusing to answer any questions, before re -emerging a few years later, spruiking a new alcohol drink called Easy Seltzer.I'm nationally online with Dan Murphy's and then we're about to launch out.

Trent Collett was employed by him there.I'd go sometimes nearly two weeks without any pay.So where I'd be borrowing money off other people, my parents.to put petrol in my car to be able to go and do my job.

The father of two had an employment contract in place with Clark but claims he was constantly chasing his pay, placing enormous stress on his home life.

I never thought I had to go andmy boss to do a background check on him to find out if he was a decent bloke or not.But I wish I did.I've been living a lie with this guy for six months.I had no idea.

He claims he still owed $10 ,000 as well as tax withheld from his pay that wasn't paid to the ATO.Only after Trent left Clark's employment did he learn about his past.

When I saw that article from six, seven years ago, and we're still going through this, and there's still people out there popping up that have been done over, I can't let that happen in another seven years.I can't let that happen in another seven days, where he screws anyone else over.

This isn't your first time on a current affair, is it?I mean, you think you can just find...You think you just find an honest way to make a living?

We are.

Well, it doesn't seem like it.You've got unpaid employees, you've got unpaid tradies.Yeah.

Brandon took his pursuit for payment to social media, outing Daniel Clark and his previous appearance on ACA.Only after that post went public were any of his invoices disputed.

Nothing was questioned.Everything was brilliant and great and awesome and good job guys and you know until payment was an issue.

Why'd you pay $3 ,000 if you were disputing it?Because it's a part payment.We can still dispute the markups and ask for a receipt of all the pricing that needs to come through from the material list.

Brandon has been providing a live spreadsheet to Daniel Clark containing all those receipts.It seems Clark hasn't shared them with his business partner, Lily Eastwood, who wanted to meet with us and tell her side of the story.You're the face of this place.

I am.

What's happened to it?

He's sent this invoice that we just want answers for as to what we're being charged for.

I show her Brandon's three separate emails to Daniel Clark with a link to the live spreadsheet.

Brandon says very clearly Dan was given access to the live spreadsheet all the way along.I can see that now.

I never knew that information before.

She also hasn't seen a series of text messages sent from Daniel Clark's phone encouraging the tradies to go after Lily.

You and your mates should go legally hard against Omnia Group.Really try to destroy the company.

How do you feel reading that your business partner is telling these tradies to destroy the company that you're 50 % in?Blindsided.

Completely blindsided.My head's in scrambles right now.I mean, you shouldn't really want to destroy your business partner, should you?

I wouldn't have thought so.

No.

A new low, even for someone with Daniel Clarke's form.

It's just the lowest of low.how you can carry yourself and just walk around your neighbourhood knowing that you've done things like this.

When are you going to start treating people right?If you just paid your debts, none of this would happen, would it?Mate, we have.We have right to dispute.So go f*** off.

What a charmer, hey?Well, well done guys on calling him out.