A Wagga wine producer has told a corruption hearing that he received $270,000 from export sales in connection with his part in a migrant worker "scam".
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Cottontail Wines owner Gerry McCormick admitted to the Independent Commission Against Corruption on Monday he had allowed a Chinese national named Daisy Lee to claim she lived and worked in Wagga as his accountant.
Mr McCormick told ICAC his involvement in what he described as a "scam" had involved email and spoken conversations with then-Wagga MP Daryl Maguire in 2013.
ICAC also heard that Mr Maguire's self-described business associate Gordon Tse told Mr McCormick that his restaurants in China would serve Cottontail's 'Red Bubbles' vintage.
Mr McCormick also said Mr Tse had told him of plans to build a "huge" theme park in China named "Wagga Wagga".
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In return for signing off on what he admitted was false paperwork that allowed Ms Lee to stay in Australia, Mr McCormick said he received the type of orders from China that previously eluded his Eunanoreenya winery.
He said he received about $70,000 in wine sales from Ms Lee's parents, a further $200,000 in sales from other parties he believed came from the deal and he was still getting Chinese business today.
Mr McCormick said an immigration agent called Maggie Wang constantly reassured him that having Ms Lee on the books was "above board".
"You didn't really believe that did you?" Counsel Assisting ICAC Scott Robertson asked.
Mr McCormick admitted it was suspicious.
"It was the wrong thing to do, but I did it and I really regret it," he said.
Mr McCormick said he met Ms Wang and Mr Maguire at Wagga's Golden Crow Awards and he later worked with the agent to hire a marketing officer in 2013.
The night allegedly led to another meeting in Mr Maguire's Wagga electorate office, attended by Mr Maguire and G8wayinternational director Phillip Elliott.
Mr Elliott has previously told ICAC that G8way employed Ms Wang and the company was run for Mr Maguire's benefit.
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Mr McCormick said he "never experienced any corruption" from Mr Maguire or a request for money and he was at the meeting to support him as Wagga's MP.
Mr Robertson asked Mr McCormick whether a series of emails indicated he had spoken to Mr Maguire directly about Ms Lee's visa.
"I can't recall Mr Maguire having anything to do with the immigration side of it, but he must have. He's talking to Maggie about it [in the email]," Mr McCormick said.
Mr McCormick said he thought Ms Lee would live in an apartment he organised for her in central Wagga and work near his winery.
Mr McCormick said Ms Wang gave him another $5000 "to shut me up" when he was unhappy about Ms Lee not turning up to work.
"I didn't realise this was such a large scam and I don't get involved with that sort of stuff," he said.