#Grochowski

[investment-scam]

Judge lifts lid on Henry Kaye's secret windfall from land bank scam

Notorious property spruiker Henry Kaye reaped up to 60 per cent interest from a discredited land banking scam into which mum and dad investors from across Australia have tipped tens of millions of dollars.

On Friday morning Federal Court Justice Beach named Kaye and his sister Julia Feldman as beneficiaries behind the scheme, known as Foscari, in Melbourne's outer west, which was a key focus of a Fairfax Media investigation in 2015.

Through 2013 and 2014 Foscari was marketed as an "iconic architectural masterpiece" to unsophisticated investors as part of a network of land-banking schemes across Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia.

Fairfax Media estimates that hundreds - possibly thousands - of investors have sunk more than $100 million into the schemes, much of which may now be lost.

In reality the Foscari site in Palmers Road, Truganina remains a contaminated and disused rubbish dump.

On Friday Justice Beach agreed to a request by the corporate regulator to liquidate Foscari and a similar project, Hermitage in Bendigo, noting that millions of dollars had been "misappropriated" and, possibly, lost.

The Belarus-born Henry Kaye headed a get-rich-quick property empire that targeted unsophisticated investors.

It collapsed in 2003 owing 3500 investors up to $60 million.

He was later found by the Federal Court to have breached the Trade Practices Act, and in 2010 was barred from managing companies for five years.

In a breakthrough finding, Justice Beach outlined how Kaye acted as a silent money man behind the Foscari scheme.

He found that Henry Kaye and his sister had charged interest of up to 60 per cent on $1 million plus loan to Foscari.

Kaye is not listed as the owner or director of the company behind the loan, Bourke & Queen Mortgages.

Rather, according to Justice Beach, its ownership was hidden through small Melbourne law firm Evans Ellis with a lawyer at that firm, Darren Eliau, listed as an original director.

It has now been passed on to Brendan Maletto, a manager at a Nick Scali furniture store in Sydney's south-east. He declined to comment.

Concern has mounted since the Fairfax revelations that the massive outlays - including life savings in many cases - had disappeared into an impenetrable maze of secretive trust accounts tied to wealth spuiker Kaye.

The Federal Court findings are a significant breakthrough in the tracking of the money.

The ruling was a response to a wind-up request in December by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission which is concerned that the companies behind the two schemes were insolvent, and that investors who had bought lots or options may have been misled.

Justice Beach agreed to the request and appointed liquidators Nicholas Martin and Craig Crosbie.

His decision follows a clamp down last year on another Kaye associate, controversial spruiker Jamie McIntyre.

In December an ASIC statement noted that the two schemes were not close to completion and "appeared to be incapable of completion due to the financial position of the development companies".

The ASIC inquiry followed Fairfax revelations last year about Foscari and a sister Melbourne project, Veneziane ('the Toorak of the West') in Melton, and a string of projects linked to Kaye, Feldman and McIntyre.

In manipulative and misleading seminars, Market First spruiked the involvement in the Foscari scheme of big name architects and planners as well as high-profile lawyers, Slater and Gordon.

In 2015 Fairfax revealed that the scheme's promoter, Market First, had recommended Slater & Gordon as legal representative to customers buying into projects in the two schemes in outer Melbourne.

The law firm later withdrew after an internal probe raised concerns about the secrecy around the individuals behind the schemes, and had warned investors that they may have overpaid and been misled.

In December ASIC highlighted its concern that lawyers recommended by scheme promoters were "not independent enough to provide the best advice".

Justice Beach found it was likely investors had been "lured" into buying options the schemes by "misleading representations or misleading or deceptive conduct" by the promoters.

He said that long-time Kaye associate, Michael Grochowski - a key figure in most of the land banking schemes - "had acted and continues to act as a shadow director of Bilkurra and Foscari".

But he said it was "wishful thinking" for investors to imagine fully recovering their money.

As part of the wider probe, ASIC in August also moved against companies linked to McIntyre's 21st Century group and five land banking schemes.

In October, the Federal Court made orders appointing provisional liquidators to the companies which operated the McIntyre schemes.

In December, the court also made wind-up orders for failed land banking company Midland Hwy, another McIntyre-promoted scheme managed by Grochowski.

[brucedinsman]

Book Review: Home for an Amish Christmas by Amy Grochowski

Home for an Amish Christmas: Amish Dream on Prince Edward Island, Book 4 (Amish Dreams on Prince Edward Island) KindleHome for an Amish Christmas: Amish Dream on Prince Edward Island, Book 4 by Amy GrochowskiMy rating: 5 of 5 starsSeven-Year Stretch Well, all’s well that ends well. A marriage with instant family, a young man hungry for a Daddy’s love. So many good things here, and the author…

[skrzynka]

antykwariat grochowski zajebisty ostatnio cała zastawe tam kupilem na prezent dla młodej pary, smacznej czekolady życze i miłego dzionka

koniec koncow dzisiaj akurat tam nie bylam ale generalnie bardzo lubie tam chodzic pare razy bylam i fajne ksiazki dorwalam (w jednej z nich jako zakladka byl urywek gazety z dnia smierci popieluszki co jest smieszne dla mnie ze teraz to posiadam)

[vintagepipemen]

Henry Grochowski, a teacher at West Seneca East High School in New York, 1971. 

[24dailyblog]

Property Spruiker Henry Kaye's Associates Face Public Grilling over Land Scams

Liquidators on behalf of the corporate regulator will publicly examine 10 key players behind two failed development schemes proposed for Melbourne's outer west and Bendigo and were part of a network land-banking scams across Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia, revealed by The Age in early 2015.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is now seeking to untangle the complex web of companies, trusts, loans and properties behind the schemes as part of its ongoing probe of land banking.

Among those to be examined are senior lawyers from the firm formerly known as Clamenz Evans Ellis which is also linked to the alleged Plutus tax fraud syndicate scam in NSW along with Adam Cranston, the son of Australian Tax Office deputy commissioner Michael Cranston.

Clamenz's Sydney-based tax lawyer Dev Menon was one of 10 people arrested this month over an allegedly fraudulent scheme that skimmed $165 million in taxes through a network of payroll businesses.

Other Clamenz lawyers summonsed for public examination in land-banking case are Daniel Clarke from Sydney and Darren Eliau from Melbourne.

Clamenz Evans Ellis lawyers were central to the land banking operation including as directors of key companies involved.

Kaye's sister Julia Feldman, who often oversaw the marketing of the schemes, as well as long-time Kaye associates lawyer Colin Adno and project manager Michael Grochowski also face questioning.

So too does Sydney accountant Ian Stephens. He was a director of one of the Melbourne-based land-banking companies and also is a director with Adam Cranston of the private equity company Synep in Sydney. Mr Stephens has not been charged in relation to the alleged Plutus fraud and there is no suggestion he was in any way involved.

Kaye – whose role in the scams was hidden behind secretive trusts and financial deals – has not yet been called for public examination. However, the court has also ordered lawyers to produce an array of documents including communications with lenders to the projects, which would include Kaye.

The Belarus-born Kaye amassed a fortune from get-rich seminars in the early 2000s. His wealth education empire collapsed in 2003 owing 3500 investors up to $60 million.

Some of that money is believed to have been sunk into Melbourne's sprawling western fringe where Kaye and his associates worked up their new strategy for fleecing gullible real estate investors – high-risk "options" on yet-to-be-developed housing projects.

In manipulative seminars from 2011 to 2014 they flogged glamour development projects like Foscari (an "iconic architectural masterpiece") and Veneziane (the "Toorak of the West").

Years after it was first marketed, the Foscari site in Truganina remained a disused rubbish dump, the Veneziane site paddocks in Melton.

In April 2016 ASIC succeeded in having two of the land-banking companies wound up, arguing the companies were insolvent.

In his findings Federal Court Justice Beach identified Kaye as a beneficiary behind the Foscari scheme, reaping up to 60 per cent interest from loans he had made via a company called Bourke & Queen Mortgages. Clamenz lawyer Darren Eliau is listed as an original director of the company.

Investors sunk tens of millions of dollars into the schemes, much of which now appears lost in an impenetrable maze of secretive trust accounts. The land-banking scams highlight the widespread use of trusts in Australia to both avoid tax and reduce transparency.

[smsfadvisers]

ASIC seeks ban for landbanking scheme directors

The two individuals, Michael Grochowski and Ian Edward Stephens, are linked to five development companies that operated two landbank schemes – Hermitage Bendigo (formerly called Acacia Banks ) in Bagshot on the outskirts of Bendigo and Veneziane in Brookfield near Melton in Melbourne's outer west.

[investment-newsscam]

ASIC takes action against land banking companies

The Australian Securities and Investments Commissions (ASIC) has taken action to wind up five companies associated with two land banking schemes, and to disqualify Michael Grochowski and Ian Edward Stephens from managing corporations.

An ASIC investigation led the regulator to appoint liquidators to five development companies associated with the schemes, known as the Hermitage Bendigo scheme and the Veneziane scheme.

ASIC alleged that the development company, Project Management (PMA), and its officers Grochowski and Stephens, were involved in the operation of the land banking schemes, controlling bank accounts relating to the other four companies.

ASIC was concerned that the land banking companies were insolvent after an investigation suggested that they raised in excess of $15 million from unsophisticated investors by the sale of options to purchase land or off the plan contracts of sale in land proposed to be developed, however the development companies never owned the land.

[24bcc-financial-news]

Sovereign director Michael Grochowski banned by ASIC for breach of financial services laws while investing clients’ monies in property fund

ASIC has banned Michael Grochowski of Hampton, Victoria, from providing financial services for four years in relation to his conduct as a director and officer of Sovereign MF Limited.

Sovereign MF Limited invested in property assets on behalf of mum and dad investors and self-managed superannuation funds.

Grochowski was a director and officer of Sovereign MF Limited from May 12, 2003 until his resignation in March 2010.

Sovereign holds an Australian Financial Services (AFS) licence, which authorises it to operate registered managed investment schemes, including The Sovereign Aged Care Property Fund, whose purpose is to invest retail clients’ money into real property investments.

ASIC found Grochowski did not comply with financial services laws by failing to ensure all the assets of the fund were properly identified and registered as assets of the fund, resulting in the loss of property assets of the fund.

He also did not remedy defective disclosure documents for the fund, such that the documents did not contain information about a material change to circumstances affecting property assets of the fund.

ASIC found he did not provide members of the fund with timely ongoing disclosure about material changes to circumstances affecting property assets of the fund, and the watchdog also said he did not lodge annual financial reports for Sovereign and the fund.

ASIC also found Grochowski’s conduct as an officer of the company between December 2006 and March 2010 demonstrated a lack of understanding of the obligations imposed on AFS licensees.

ASIC commissioner Greg Tanzer says Grochowski’s banning reflects ASIC’s commitment to raising standards across the financial services industry and shows there are consequences for those who fail to comply with financial services laws.

New directors were appointed to Sovereign in March 2010.

Sovereign continues to hold an AFS licence authorising it to operate its registered managed investment schemes and is addressing issues stemming from conduct prior to the appointment of the new directors. ASIC is not pursuing any action against Sovereign or its current directors in relation to these issues.

Grochowski has the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to seek a review of ASIC’s decision.

[24property-news]

Land Banking Scheme Officers Banned

THE Federal Court has disqualified Michael Grochowski and Ian Stephens from managing corporations as officers of failed land banking schemes Bilkurra ...

The Federal Court of Australia has disqualified Michael Grochowski and Ian Stephens from managing corporations for five and a half years and four years respectively, due to their being officers of companies that had failed and been wound up by the Court.

The Court found that while Grochowski was not a named director of Bilkurra Investments Pty Ltd and Foscari Holdings Pty Ltd (both in liquidation), he was an officer of the companies until they were wound up by the Court, on application filed by ASIC, in April 2016.

Both Bilkurra Investments and Foscari Holdings operated land banking schemes in Victoria, known as Hermitage Bendigo and Foscari. Promoters of the land banking schemes used Bilkurra and Foscari to raise approximately $24 million from investors (16-114MR).

In deciding the period of banning, the Court considered an earlier decision of a delegate of ASIC, made in April 2012, prohibiting Grochowski from providing financial services for four years. The Court was also satisfied with ASIC’s claim that the way both companies were managed was the reason for their failing.

The Court found that the appointment of Stephens as a director of both companies, who was an experienced chartered accountant, presented a false facade of meaningful oversight and governance of the companies’ affairs.

Further, the Court found Stephens failed to exercise any meaningful decision making and management responsibility for the companies, which had obtained large amounts of investment from the public.

‘These bannings will help protect the public from further investing with officers of companies that repeatedly fail. ASIC will continue to investigate failed land banking schemes and take whatever action is necessary to ensure failed schemes do not continue,’ said ASIC Commissioner John Price.

Background This proceeding is part of ASIC’s wider and ongoing investigation into land banking schemes. These banning orders were made in proceedings filed by ASIC in March 2018 to wind up five companies for their role in offering land banking schemes, namely:

Brookfield Riverside Pty Ltd Bilkurra West Pty Ltd Bilkurra South Pty Ltd; Gillies Road Pty Ltd; and Project Management (Aust) Pty Ltd. Those companies were wound up by the Court in July 2018 (18-221MR).

ASIC provided funding from the Assetless Administration Fund (AAF) that assisted the liquidators to undertake further enquiries that were subsequently used by ASIC for the disqualification.

The two land banking schemes are known as Hermitage Bendigo (formerly Acacia Banks) were located at Midland Highway, Bagshot, Victoria 3551 and Foscari, located at 99 Palmers Road, Truganina, Victoria 3029.

Further information on how land banking is sold to investors and what can go wrong can be found on ASIC's MoneySmart website. If investors have any questions regarding ASIC’s investigation, they can contact ASIC on 1300 300 630.

[brucedinsman]

Book Review: The Amish Cowboy's Second Chance by Amy Grochowski

The Amish Cowboy’s Second Chance: Amish Dreams on Prince Edward Island, Book 3 KindleThe Amish Cowboy’s Second Chance: Amish Dreams on Prince Edward Island, Book 3 by Amy GrochowskiMy rating: 5 of 5 starsRedeemed! What a wonderful story of God’s love and steady calling to bring Noah home to find Rachel still waiting for him. As he reunites with his father he sees what God intended all along. Good…

[skrzynka]

antykwariat grochowski saved me

[autimesnews]

Court disqualifies chartered accountant for part in land banking scheme

The Federal Court of Australia has disqualified officers, including a chartered accountant, from managing corporations due to their involvement in a land banking scheme that raised some $24 million from investors.

The court has disqualified Michael Grochowski and Ian Stephens from managing corporations for five and a half years and four years, respectively, due to their being officers of companies that had failed and been wound up by the court, ASIC said.

The court found that while Mr Grochowski was not a named director of Bilkurra Investments and Foscari Holdings (both in liquidation), he was an officer of the companies until they were wound up by the court, on application filed by ASIC, in April 2016.

Both Bilkurra Investments and Foscari Holdings operated land banking schemes in Victoria, known as Hermitage Bendigo and Foscari. Promoters of the land banking schemes used Bilkurra and Foscari to raise about $24 million from investors.

“In deciding the period of banning, the court considered an earlier decision of a delegate of ASIC, made in April 2012, prohibiting Grochowski from providing financial services for four years,” ASIC disclosed.

“The court was also satisfied with ASIC’s claim that the way both companies were managed was the reason for their failing.”

The court found that the appointment of Mr Stephens as a director of both companies, who was an experienced chartered accountant, presented a false facade of meaningful oversight and governance of the companies’ affairs.

Further, the court found Mr Stephens failed to exercise any meaningful decision making and management responsibility for the companies, which had obtained large amounts of investment from the public.

“These bannings will help protect the public from further investing with officers of companies that repeatedly fail. ASIC will continue to investigate failed land banking schemes and take whatever action is necessary to ensure failed schemes do not continue,” said ASIC commissioner John Price.

[investment-news-scam]

ASIC takes action against land banking companies

The Australian Securities and Investments Commissions (ASIC) has taken action to wind up five companies associated with two land banking schemes, and to disqualify Michael Grochowski and Ian Edward Stephens from managing corporations.

An ASIC investigation led the regulator to appoint liquidators to five development companies associated with the schemes, known as the Hermitage Bendigo scheme and the Veneziane scheme.

ASIC alleged that the development company, Project Management (PMA), and its officers Grochowski and Stephens, were involved in the operation of the land banking schemes, controlling bank accounts relating to the other four companies.

ASIC was concerned that the land banking companies were insolvent after an investigation suggested that they raised in excess of $15 million from unsophisticated investors by the sale of options to purchase land or off the plan contracts of sale in land proposed to be developed, however the development companies never owned the land.

[idcrawls]

ASIC seeks ban for landbanking scheme directors Michael Grochowski, Ian Stephens

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is seeking bans for two developers associated with companies that raked in more than $15 million from unsophisticated investors through controversial landbanking schemes, with most of the money feared "dissipated".

The two individuals, Michael Grochowski and Ian Edward Stephens, are linked to five development companies that operated two landbank schemes – Hermitage Bendigo (formerly called Acacia Banks ) in Bagshot on the outskirts of Bendigo and Veneziane in Brookfield near Melton in Melbourne's outer west.

[24dailyblog]

Property Spruiker-linked Land Banking Companies wound up

A group of companies linked to notorious property spruiker Henry Kaye’s failed land banking schemes, that fleeced millions of dollars from mum and dad investors, have been successfully shut down by Australia’s financial watchdog.

Federal Court orders issued this week will wind up, “in the public interest,” five companies used by Kaye, his lawyers and business associates to scam investors of as much as $100 million.

All five companies were linked to the slickly-promoted land banking schemes in Melbourne's outer west and Bendigo, part of a network of scams across Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia, revealed by The Age in early 2015.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) successfully applied for Federal Court orders to wind up Brookfield Riverside, Bilkurra West, Bilkurra South, and Gillies Road, claiming the companies were insolvent.

Money raised from investors was transferred between the companies without any concern for the investors and had largely disappeared, ASIC claims.

The regulator is still untangling a complex web of companies, trusts, loans and properties that were behind the schemes as part of its probe into land banking.

None of the scheme’s many investors, who were sold “options” over empty farms and rubbish dumps, have had any of their missing millions returned.

A fifth company, Project Management (Aust) which was used to control the other companies, was also wound up.

Its directors Michael Grochowski and Ian Stephens will face court in September after ASIC sought to have them disqualified from managing corporations.

In 2016, the financial watchdog obtained 10-year banning orders against another pair of notorious spruikers, brothers Jamie and Dennis McIntyre, who promoted the land banking scams.

Over a period of several years from 2011, Kaye and his associates flogged the high-risk "options" on yet-to-be-developed housing projects to gullible real estate investors, before making off with millions.

One Kaye associate and senior lawyers from the law firm formerly known as Clamenz Evans Ellis, which helped facilitate the land banking operation, have also been linked to the alleged Plutus tax fraud syndicate in NSW along with Adam Cranston, son of Australian Taxation Office deputy commissioner Michael Cranston.

Other Clamenz lawyers, Daniel Clarke, Darren Eliau and Ben Skinner, were summonsed last year for public examination in the land-banking case. There is no suggestion they were linked to the Plutus syndicate.

The Belarus-born Kaye amassed a fortune from get-rich seminars in the early 2000s. His wealth education empire collapsed in 2003 owing 3500 investors up to $60 million.

ASIC is hoping to build a case against Kaye but it appears he has disappeared, taking much of the land-banking riches with him.

[24financial-news]

Sovereign director Michael Grochowski banned by ASIC for breach of financial services laws while investing clients’ monies in property fund

ASIC has banned Michael Grochowski of Hampton, Victoria, from providing financial services for four years in relation to his conduct as a director and officer of Sovereign MF Limited.

Sovereign MF Limited invested in property assets on behalf of mum and dad investors and self-managed superannuation funds.

Grochowski was a director and officer of Sovereign MF Limited from May 12, 2003 until his resignation in March 2010.

Sovereign holds an Australian Financial Services (AFS) licence, which authorises it to operate registered managed investment schemes, including The Sovereign Aged Care Property Fund, whose purpose is to invest retail clients’ money into real property investments.

ASIC found Grochowski did not comply with financial services laws by failing to ensure all the assets of the fund were properly identified and registered as assets of the fund, resulting in the loss of property assets of the fund.

He also did not remedy defective disclosure documents for the fund, such that the documents did not contain information about a material change to circumstances affecting property assets of the fund.

ASIC found he did not provide members of the fund with timely ongoing disclosure about material changes to circumstances affecting property assets of the fund, and the watchdog also said he did not lodge annual financial reports for Sovereign and the fund.

ASIC also found Grochowski’s conduct as an officer of the company between December 2006 and March 2010 demonstrated a lack of understanding of the obligations imposed on AFS licensees.

ASIC commissioner Greg Tanzer says Grochowski’s banning reflects ASIC’s commitment to raising standards across the financial services industry and shows there are consequences for those who fail to comply with financial services laws.

New directors were appointed to Sovereign in March 2010.

Sovereign continues to hold an AFS licence authorising it to operate its registered managed investment schemes and is addressing issues stemming from conduct prior to the appointment of the new directors. ASIC is not pursuing any action against Sovereign or its current directors in relation to these issues.

Grochowski has the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to seek a review of ASIC’s decision.