The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has permanently banned Matthew Allen Beresford from engaging in financial services and credit activities, after he was convicted of false document and proceeds of crime offences last year.
Beresford had used a false identity and fraudulent bank accounts to establish a business that had “illegally offered financial advice and financial services”, ASIC said, while the business website also falsely claimed the company representatives held an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL).
“An ASIC investigation revealed that investors deposited approximately $374,000 into the various bank accounts opened by Mr Beresford,” the regulator said.
“ASIC worked closely with Victoria Police (VicPol) on this matter, with VicPol initiating charges against Mr Beresford for various offences.”
In June last year, Beresford pleaded guilty in the County Court of Victoria to false document and proceeds of crime offences and was sentenced to 85 days’ imprisonment and a 30-month Community Corrections order.
“ASIC’s banning action against Mr Beresford’s seeks to promote fairness, honesty and professionalism by those who provide financial and credit services and ensure informed participation of investors and consumers in the financial system,” ASIC said.
In late 2019, Beresford established Maxwell Financial Services, which offered financial services, including the opportunity to invest in financial products with high annual returns. He offered these products and services through a website, a Facebook page and advertised on Melbourne radio station 3AW.
In October 2020, ASIC secured Federal Court orders to restrain Beresford from carrying on a financial services business, alongside freezing all bank accounts associated with Maxwell Financial Services and Asset Capital Holdings.
In addition to claiming that it has an AFSL, the Maxwell Financial Services website also claimed the business was associated with ASIC and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.
And old mates costs will be added to the CSLR…?
Yeah Nah.
And yet it took them 3 years to take any action against Shield. Will there be a FA class action against ASIC for failing to do their job?
Don’t ASIC just love to crow on about all the things they have done, whilst silence falls on all of the hundreds of things they should have done over the last decade, including investigating and prosecuting the Industry Super funds for vertically integrated conflicted advice based on building FUM rather than providing non-conflicted advice in the best interest of the client.
Never forget ASIC didn’t take accountability for Storm financial and CBA and banking system issues which basically caused clients not to be sold out at the correct time because of pricing delays which then put clients into margin call. Most wont remember but the directors of storm financial tried blamed ASIC and said it was a cover up due to product failure..
The Commonwealth Bank forced Storm into administration on 9 January 2009 when the bank called up its lending facilities to Storm, citing a default on Storm’s own margin lending facility with the bank. Whilst the date of the alleged default by Storm was 10 October 2008, the Commonwealth Bank records at the time showed Storm to not be in default. The banks acceptance of non-default was evidenced by the banks approval to Storm for a $30 million loan facility on 24 October 2008, the banks funding of a $10 million facility to Storm on 29 October 2008 and a new loan facility of $4.725 million on 5 December 2008 for the purchase of a new building.
Whilst in the past the Commonwealth Bank sent margin call notices out to Storm clients, the advisor or both, the bank’s failure to issue margin call notices at the critical time was one of the major influences in late 2008 that triggered the eventual collapse of Storm. The banks failure to issue margin call notices together with its inability to reconcile the correct financial position of each client ultimately led to many clients passing through their margin call trigger points and ending in negative equity.
The unreliability and inaccuracy of the data provided to Storm and Storm clients by the Commonwealth Bank was identified in clause 24 of an evaluation conducted by the Roger Gyles QC on 18 November 2011. This evaluation further states that not only was the banks data inaccurate but that Commonwealth Bank officers knew of these inaccuracies. Separate analysis revealed the extent of the CBA data errors and how integral these errors were to the significant losses that Storm clients suffered.
The claim was made by Cassimatis in his submission to the Senate inquiry into the performance of ASIC, with Cassimatis also alleging that ASIC worked in concert with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) to make it appear Storm had failed to manage its clients’ leveraged equities investments when they should have already been sold out at predetermined levels to avoid margin calls or negative equity.
In the submission Cassimatis alleges that Storm failed because CBA did not provide its clients with margin call notices in late 2008 and that ASIC and CBA then proceeded to cover this up by moving the blame for the failing onto Storm.
ASIC chief Greg Medcraft tell the media the Commonwealth Bank had done the “right thing” by agreeing to increase its payout to Storm Financial investors by $136 million taking the total compensation to around $270 million.
Enter Business Day journalist Paddy Manning who asked Medcraft if it were not a “nonsense” that the Commonwealth Bank was agreeing to pay out investors to the tune of $270 million, while at the same time admitting no fault.
In a defence document filed, Mr and Mrs Cassimatis said ASIC officials ”visited Storm’s premises and conducted reviews and audits on numerous occasions from 1993 to 2008” without raising concerns.
So what’s happening with Shield?
Meanwhile over at First Guardian and Shield…. ASIC did?
For three years they did nothing. Now they are saying it was the fault of advisers and therfore we pick up the tab.
Yep. That’s our beloved regulator.
Rubbish and unaccountable.
Heads need to roll. No more ideologically driven appointments.