Gregorys Transport went into liquidation last week due to crippling debts, leaving hundreds of employees and contract drivers without pay and superannuation.

The business was one of the largest privately-owned freight and warehousing operations in the country, with headquarters in Victoria, NSW, Queensland and Western Australia.

Liquidator James Koutsoukos, of BRI Ferrier, said he believed Mr Westaway could face serious charges after the company ran up more than $10 million in debt.

The company had not paid superannuation to about 85 full-time  employees for almost 12 months, while it owed more than $600,000 in pay to hundreds of owner-drivers.

"My preliminary view is that the company has been trading while insolvent," Mr Koutsoukos said.

"When superannuation is outstanding for this sort of period, it is a very likely indicator."

If dishonesty is involved, trading while insolvent can be a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to $220,000 and up to five years' jail. Successful insolvent trading actions through the civil courts carry penalties of up to $200,000 in fines.

The Dandenong-based company, whose major customers included Coca-Cola Amatil, Schweppes and Bluescope Steel, had hundreds of its trucks repossessed in November when it went into receivership. An investigation into its finances is now under way.

Gregorys Transport is fully owned by Mr Westaway, the president of the St Kilda AFL club from 2007-13.

Mr Westaway was awarded the Centenary Medal by the Australian government in 2011 for his services to the transport sector.

A Gregorys employee of more than 10 years told Fairfax Media that staff had been locked out of the Dandenong depot last week and were "kept in the dark" by Mr Westaway. "He is gutless," the former employee said.

Truck driver Kulvir Singh, 26, who was contracted by Gregorys, said cracks in the company started appearing earlier this year with increasingly late payments.

He said he was still owed more than $4000, which was causing him financial strain.

"One day they just stopped paying me," he said. "Then after working there for more than a year, I did not get any work for three months.

"I don't have much money and there are things I need to pay for. It has been hard."

Mr Koutsoukos said creditors were extremely angry at how they had been treated by the company, and Mr Westaway felt "deeply remorseful".

Mr Westaway did not respond to requests for comment.

Receiver Brendan Richards, of Ferrier Hodgson, said mid-tier transport companies faced tough times due to customers pushing down prices and squeezing the supply chain. But he said it was disappointing to see another Australian company go under.

"I know that many of these business failures are completely avoidable," Mr Richards.

"Businesses that recognise they are in trouble and work aggressively to combat their problems can often be saved. When they don't, failure is an inevitable result."