5th August 2019
PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA
Hon. Scott Morrison MP
Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet
PO Box 6500
Canberra ACT 2600
THE STERLING GROUP COLLAPSE: $28.6 Million Compensation
ROYAL COMMISSION INTO Australian Securities and Investment Commission (“ASIC”)
Dear Prime Minister
This is our third letter to you in the hope you will assist us in this situation.
We are Australian citizens who have worked tirelessly for 50 years at creating our own financial independence to arrive at a point in our retirement to feel secure financially and emotionally, however we now find ourselves living below the poverty line, our life savings stolen by the Sterling Group.
We were approached by Sterling Group at a time when our family home was in the process of being sold. Now, through the blatant negligence of ASIC failing to live up to the responsibility to protect the Australian Consumer we are now left penniless, our life savings gone, and yes we are facing homelessness through eviction.
The Federal government continues to pour in excess of $450 Million into ASIC, something is seriously wrong when consumers cannot rely on their protection. ASIC continually turns a blind-eye to the targeting of elderly citizens.
“A Fair Go Australia’? –more appropriately is “A Fair Go White-collar Crime -Come on Down-under”. Corruption is allowed to flourish Mr Morrison, with all due respect Mr Prime Minister Australian citizens voted for you-Are you going to support the people of Australia”?
Clearly the message that Australia is sending to the rest of the world is “Welcome to Australia-come hither those who wish to plunder” it is a joke. We are more than angry Mr Morrison!
We feel that we speak for all those who are victims in the Sterling Group collapse when we say collectively “Enough is Enough, We are tired of being hung- out to dry- having to bear this situation on our own, with no support whatsoever-whilst those responsible for our demise simply pass the buck and pretend it will all just go away!
Mr Frydenberg has written an inappropriate response as Parliament closes again.
He is falsely and underhandedly claiming the Sterling collapse is a Civil and State issue, how on earth can he deliver that response when there is a long list of Federal issues that are blatantly obvious.
Mr Frydenberg suggested the Sterling Victims wander off to AFCA , No-one gets satisfaction from the banker’s monitor, AFCA assists very few people and it’s legal opinions to deny claims are crafted by bankers. We have previously written to Mr Josh Frydenberg, also to the Chairman of ASIC. To date we have received no acknowledgment/responses.
We have reached out to you by way of letter three times since June but have only received an emailed response that our letter was received.
As constituents we understand perfectly what Federal issues are at stake, and we bring these to your attention:
The FEDERAL ISSUES
· Centrelink: Landlords inability to seek rental assistance;
· Impact on the national economy re “Lease for Life” scams:
· ASIC negligence; Fake rescue offers from $2 companies;
· Liquidators accepting bogus offers:
· Dangerous Buyer Beware policies;
· ASIC permitting constant streams of companies to rise and fall:
· Corporation breaches by directors;
· Failure to call in the AFP:
· Failure to protect our international reputation re white-collar crime;
· Banks approval of the leases in relation to lending;
· Landlords being groomed in “secure future”;
· False claims re ASX fundraising.
· Information Memo’s used instead of Prospectuses-outlawed in 1999?
· Using TRUST in the P/L name but no proper trust account in place:
· Worthless and misleading guarantees;
· Characters known for collapses and registration of multiple companies in the stream.
· Banks involved with inappropriate lending and credit checks. Verification.
· Property Management all linked into the system via share.
· Lawyers who designed and profited from the inappropriate Contracts.
The Sterling collapse of the Group of Companies has now risen to $28.6 million. We are amongst the Two Hundred elderly victims who are suffering. We seek serious and immediate compensation of the money that has been taken from us- and to receive that compensation in weeks NOT months.
the Sterling victims, and sorting out the ASIC debacle over the next two years. Time is overdue for The Sterling matter is easily solved by making an immediate one-off payment of compensation to calling a Royal Commission into ASIC.
ASIC was aware in 2015 of issues pertaining to Sterling Group, they were also aware of the same cast of characters who were involved in a previous similar collapse, and yet there was absolutely no warning via newspaper or media to alert us to a Buyer Beware situation. These cast of characters were simply allowed to go on and create other Ponzi structures.
Our personal experience was being subjected to a slick and smooth presentation from the Sterling Group –painting a secure picture –promising us a worry-free and happy retirement with ‘a rent-for-life’ scheme. In hindsight that has been the furthest away from the reality. The presentation was crafted in a way to totally deceive. Unscrupulous Lawyers were engaged by Sterling Group and were instrumental in putting together the written ‘plan’ contracts to further bolster the deception.
Why was their NO Buyer Beware alerts by ASIC through local media?
These are home grown Aussie scams permitted by the regulator to target life savings from elderly and and vulnerable retirees. Sadly one of the victims passed away two weeks ago, another four have a terminal diagnosis and have only months to live. My wife’s prognosis is not a good one as she has SLE Systemic Lupus, her condition requires ongoing medications, frequent attendances to her Rheumatologist and Doctor for regular monitoring of her condition. We fear for our future, with our money and security gone we are very vulnerable
Along with previous other neglect by ASIC this situation amounts to grand scale criminal negligence by the Regulator. Why did ASIC fail to protect consumers since reports existed as early as 2011?
What made ASIC place a STOP ORDER 17 – 316MR in September 2017 and then lift it soon after?
What made ASIC take the extraordinary step of conducting a mere reconnaissance visit to 30 families in August 2018 to ask the question”-is everything ok?”–we hasten to add that we were not among that 30 families. The response of those families was “should we be worried about something then”?, and then to tell them (face to face) that all was well with Sterling and encouraging at least one customer to invest a further $10,000 the following day on the strength of those assurances?
We were signed up with Sterling New Life/Sterling Group in June 2018 when there was already ‘writing on the wall’ that ASIC were aware of. There are even some people who were signed up in February 2019 !!
Why did ASIC PERMIT these mongrels to continue to raise funds including failures in January 2019?
Why has ASIC blatantly FAILED to protect consumers? 2011 - 2019
Why did it take the impending and inevitable collapse of Sterling Group to take action?
From our perspective this is proof that ASIC LIED about how far back its complaints had been languishing in ASIC’s notoriously dark files. Is this “criminal neglect” by ASIC hierarchy?
Based upon the evidence collected to date, we say YES IT IS.
Please Help Us!
Yours Sincerely