Mayfair 101 managing director James Mawhinney has been arrested and charged with four counts of engaging in dishonest conduct in the course of carrying on a financial services business, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has said.
The corporate watchdog alleged that on four occasions between 9 August 2019 and 21 April 2020, Mawhinney of Port Melbourne, Victoria, dishonestly misrepresented to the trustee of the IPO Wealth Fund that IPO Wealth Group owned two Italian companies, Poveglia SRL and Retta SRL, when it did not.
IPO Wealth Group is the investment manager of the IPO Wealth Fund, which was a managed investment scheme promoted by Mayfair 101.
Mawhinney appeared before the Melbourne Magistrates Court today and was granted conditional bail, including that he remain in Australia, and he will next appear before the court on 28 June.
The matter is being prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions after a referral from ASIC and the maximum penalty for each charge of dishonest conduct is 15 years’ imprisonment.
In response to ASIC’s action, Mawhinney stated he would defend the charges but would not make further comment.
“I have been advised by my lawyers not to talk about the case. I refer to what Mr Richter KC said today in court: ‘We expect to defeat these charges and then we will consider bringing a case for malicious prosecution. Further, we want to put it on record that there is no harm alleged by the charges,’” he said.
The arrest and charges took place as lawyers for Mayfair 101 and Mawhinney were in the Federal Court seeking to strike out parts of the ASIC case, which led to an overturned 20- year ban and the issuance of a $30 million penalty.
