Investors say they are victims of alleged $120 million Pilbara Ponzi scheme
30 October 2017
Posted
Mum-and-dad investors caught up in an alleged Ponzi scheme in Western Australia say they are "absolutely crushed" and "broken" by the experience.
Key points:
- Thousands of people invested $120 million in the Newman Estate project run by Macro
- Allegations that investor signatures were forged on a key document
- Macro's Veronica MacPherson says government decisions negatively affected the project
- She denies any signatures were forged
As an ASIC investigation continues into collapsed property developments of Perth businesswoman Veronica MacPherson, investors are anxious for clarity on whether they will ever see their money again.
Liquidators estimated about 2,000 private investors from Australia, Europe and Asia chipped in about $120 million to the projects run by Ms MacPherson and the Macro Group of companies.
Perth retiree Ian Bevan, who lost close to $200,000, counted himself as one of the lucky ones because, unlike others, he did not borrow the money to invest.
"Anybody who drops $200,000 at our stage of life, you know it's hard to take," Mr Bevan told 7.30.
"But one particular party lost in the region of $3.5 million. They've lost their house and I believe their business is also in jeopardy, so that's affected their lives greatly.
"There are a lot of investors who will get nothing back from this. Absolutely nothing."
The 68-year-old said he spent $199,000 on a block of land in Macro's biggest project, a housing estate in the Pilbara mining town of Newman, after attending seminars in Perth in 2012 hosted by Ms MacPherson and her team.
"It was virtually an opportunity not to be missed," Mr Bevan said.
"There were boom times up there and it didn't look like it was going to end.
"They were looking at a guaranteed rental of $2,150 per week. So, if I put a four-bedroom home up there, that's what I would have been getting back."
Do you know more about this story? denise@bfcsa.com.au
'We've got nothing for our money'