The County Court of Victoria sentenced Dale Munckton after he pleaded guilty to one charge of making false and misleading statements in a prospectus. The charge related to Munckton's attempts to raise money for the company Dotnet Ltd through an Offer Information Statement which claimed Dotnet had perfected a ground-breaking new Internet technology. This technology, the offer document claimed, facilitated the replication of Websites "from which clients could promote services and earn revenue from advertising".
The Director of Public Prosecutions laid charges after an investigation with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission.
Dotnet and a related company, Hotlinks Internet Services, provided Internet services and Web-site development for a range of clients, including several Australian Football League teams. Both went into liquidation on 7 March 2001, around nine months after the Offer Information Statement was lodged.
