The former director of a financial advice group has been disqualified from managing corporations after ASIC found he put investor funds at risk and make misleading and deceptive representations.
Mitchell Atkins of Erina, New South Wales, was a director of the Magnolia Capital Group which provided financial advice and services in relation to secured lending transactions and share investments from 2018-2022.
In 2022, the group collapsed owing creditors millions of dollars and liquidators of the Magnolia Capital group of companies have reported a deficiency to creditors of between $40-50 million.
From 19 September 2018 to 7 October 2022, Atkins was an authorised representative of Australian financial services licensee Guildfords Fund Management Pty Ltd.
Atkins, who was a director in all the companies within the group and was declared bankrupt on 2 March 2023, has now been disqualified from managing corporations for five years and banned for 10 years from providing financial services and engaging in credit activities.
ASIC’s findings included that Atkins:
- Failed to act in good faith as a director by putting investor funds at risk, showed a lack of honesty and integrity by creating false documents, co-mingling investor funds and displayed a lack of competence, professionalism and financial management such that it is in the public interest that he be disqualified from managing corporations;
- Is not a fit and proper person to provide financial services due to him dealing in financial products without authorisation from Guildfords, making misleading and deceptive representations to investors about their investments and dishonestly retaining investor funds which were due to be repaid to investors; and
- Is not a fit and proper person to engage in credit activities, including because he failed to undertake training, deal with investor complaints and to respond to requests from Guildfords.
On June 2023, ASIC obtained an order from the Federal Court of Australia to restrict him from leaving Australia for a period of six months.
He has the right to apply to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC’s decisions and his disqualification and banning is recorded on ASIC’s banned and disqualified register.
ASIC’s investigation into the affairs of the Magnolia Capital Group is continuing.
