A controversial activist who claimed to represent the family of the 95-year-old great grandmother tasered by police at a care home has revealed a strange business connection with Roxy Jacenko‘s husband.
Would-be politician Andrew Thaler said he co-founded bitcoin mining company Firmus Grid with Oliver Curtis, who is married to the PR maven.
The scrap metal and solar farm owner, who has a history of court appearances and freely admits he’s had run-ins with police, laughed off any admission he and Curtis had met behind bars.
Curtis previously served one year in a NSW jail for insider trading.
‘We met in Frankfurt at the World Digital Mining Summit in 2019,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘I was attending to pitch an idea for bitcoin mining which does grid stabilisation and renewable energy.’
Oliver Curtis and Andrew Thaler attending the World Digital Mining summit in 2019 (pictured)
Oliver Curtis (pictured) alongside wife Roxy made a long-awaited return to the finance industry – five years after he was jailed over insider trading
The two-day summit offered industry insights, high-class networking, and knowledge exchange on cryptocurrency.
‘I met with billionaires, I met with all nationalities, I had dinner with some super rich people and Ollie liked the idea so when we came back to Australia we executed the due diligence and proceeded to start a company,’ he said.
Mr Thaler left the business soon after its launch, due to disagreements over Covid vaccination and animosity with the directors, but says he and Curtis have mended their once friendly working relationship.
‘We’ve kind of kissed and made up, Ollie is a great guy,’ he said.
‘He visited my place near Cooma, came for dinner all the time and he showed me a great time when I came to Sydney. He took me to a bar in margarita bar in Darling Harbour with some real heavy-hitters.’
Clare Nowland died several days after being Tasered outside her nursing home
When Curtis was convicted for insider trading in 2016, he served his prison time in Cooma Correctional Centre, the town that coincidentally neighbours Mr Thaler.
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‘Andrew was a consultant during the early stages of the business alongside a number of others for a period of about 12 months some three years ago,’ Curtis confirmed.
‘He is no longer consulting in any capacity for Firmus.’
Mr Thaler has caused controversy in recent weeks acting as an unofficial spokesperson for the family of Clare Nowland.
In news which horrified Australia, the 43kg great-grandmother, who was suffering from dementia, was Tasered by police outside her nursing home.
She died several days later, with Senior Constable Kristian White charged over the incident.
Tensions erupted at Cooma Hospital in the minutes following her, with grieving family members facing off with Mr Thaler in the darkness of the facility’s car park.
He Andrew was involved in two confrontations ‘with members of Clare’s family’.
Mr Thaler was broadcasting a Facebook video story last night about the charges, when it emerged that Ms Nowland had died just after 7pm and distraught family members began streaming out of the hospital.
‘I was live updating out front of the hospital about the news of the cop who tasered Clare being charged, and two incidents occurred with members of Clare’s family,’ Mr Thaler said.
Tensions erupted at Cooma Hospital in the minutes following Tasered grandmother Clare Nowland’s death, with grieving family members facing off with Mr Thaler (pictured) in the car park
‘Ironically while this was being broadcast Clare sadly passed away inside the hospital.
‘I understand the pressure that some or even many members of Clare’s family were under.
‘Allegations of me stalking the family are simply not true. Our community is under pressure… people want truth, many want to speak out.’
Mr Thaler has provided updates about Ms Nowland since the Tasering incident from some members of her family with whom he is in close contact.
Other family members were put in contact with the Seven and Nine television networks to negotiate deals for the Spotlight and 60 Minutes programs, with a contract rumoured to have been signed with the latter.
Mr White has been charged with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and common assault. He will face court in July.
