Dean George Scook: Stealing charges against businessman accused of being miner’s ‘shadow director’ dropped

A Victoria Park businessman accused of stealing more than half a million dollars from a high-tech, low-grade gold ore processing company has had all charges against him dropped. Dean George Scook was charged in October 2023 with 11 counts of stealing as an officer of a company between August 22, 2018 and June 24, 2019. The 69-year-old was accused of being a shadow director of Rock Mining Australia Pty Ltd and using the stolen $675,196 to pay his own debts and fund his personal lifestyle. He pleaded not guilty to all charges in March this year. And on Friday in the District Court of WA, they were discontinued by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, which said it came after a review of policy. “And arising from that review, the State has determined not to proceed further with any of the charges,” the Australian Securities and Investments Commission said in a brief statement afterwards. Rock Mining was created in 2018, based on Mr Scook’s idea of using CSIRO green mining technology to exploit former gold-bearing tenements in the Yarri region, north-east of Kalgoorlie. The company had Mr Scook’s partner Carol Hardie listed as its bookkeeper.