EBay ‘guru’ loses appeal
EBAY “guru” Matthew Clarkson has lost an appeal to quash a conviction recorded against him for lying to ASIC over a $20,000 debt.
In court, he said he wanted the conviction overturned so he could pursue a new career operating a childcare centre.
In the Southport Magistrates Court on November 16, 2020, Mr Clarkson, who last year sold his Mermaid Beach home for $5.5m, was convicted and fined $2000 and disqualified from managing corporations until November 15, 2025.
The conviction stemmed from Mr Clarkson’s nowderegistered company, Bidding Buzz, which sold courses to aspiring internet entrepreneurs for $20,000, using strategies developed by Mr Clarkson and his wife Amanda Clarkson.
Ms Clarkson was not accused of wrongdoing.
On July 25, 2019, Mr Clarkson lodged a document with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to voluntarily deregister Bidding Buzz, stating the company had no outstanding liabilities.
However, Bidding Buzz owed $19,900 to Melbourne single mother Karen Hearn,
who had won a case against the company in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal in December 2018.
Mr Clarkson, who pleaded guilty to making a misleading statement to ASIC, appealed in May against the severity of the sentence, in particular the recording of a conviction.
Court documents reveal Mr Clarkson was concerned about the impact a conviction would have on his plans to operate a childcare centre.
Judge David Kent QC dismissed Mr Clarkson’s appeal, saying it was unsuccessful on every issue raised. “No relevant error is identified nor was the sentence manifestly excessive.”
Company records show Mr Clarkson is a former director of Superheroes Childcare Centres, which was deregistered in February this year after being the subject of strike-off action by ASIC.
Malaysia-born Mr Clarkson, 50, and Tasmania-born Ms Clarkson, 56, are still involved in the internet sales-coaching scene. Company records show Ms Clarkson is sole director of Live Now Education, which changed its name from Bidding Buzz in 2017.
Mr Clarkson, who was a Live Now director until December 2020, remains its sole shareholder. He is also sole director of Live Now’s ultimate holding company, My Catwalk Secrets, which is jointly owned by the couple.
Live Now Education’s website, which was registered in Australia by Mr Clarkson, promises to set people “on the path to freedom” starting with a “Live Now Freedom Formula” video series.
Meanwhile, Ms Hearn is still waiting for the $20,000 she was awarded by the Victorian tribunal, almost a decade after she signed up to Mr Clarkson’s “Magic” eBay course in 2012.
She asked for her money back when the course turned out to be a collection of DVDs and prerecorded videos of the Clarksons, instead of the oneon-one coaching she was promised. “No, I haven’t received payment,” Ms Hearn said this week.