Property developer nabbed
A property developer has been found guilty by the Melbourne County Court on 10 charges stemming from allegations he used false and misleading statements to get investors to contribute funds to a Victorian property development.
The charges came about after an Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) investigation into the affairs of John Sage while sole director of Merchant Pacific Developments between August 1999 and June 2002.
During this time, he was also an authorised representative and financial adviser with Merchant Pacific Investment Services.
The regulator alleged Sage provided investors drawn from Merchant Pacific Investment Services’ client base with misleading information through statements that he made and via brochures about the Pacific Tower development in Hawthorn, a project being managed and promoted by Merchant Pacific Developments at the time.
The Merchant Pacific Group is now being liquidated and it is estimated that $14 million of funds due to creditors and investors will be left unpaid.
Bail was granted to Sage on the condition that he report to police twice a week in the lead up to his sentencing hearing on July 5, 2007, in the Melbourne County Court.
Sage has also been required to surrender his passport to the court.
The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions is prosecuting the matter.
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