Fleeced in dodgy deals
INVESTORS have been warned to avoid a former Townsville entrepreneur who left a trail of failed businesses in his wake.
Jonathan William Parker is under investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
But that hasn’t stopped the smooth- talking operator from launching new ventures including an “aerospace” company in Hobart.
A News Corp Australia investigation has discovered the company’s listed address in Hobart’s Technopark doesn’t exist and it’s purported links to the Tasmanian Government are denied by a spokesman.
A string of unhappy investors, damning forensic reports, legal demands and now an investigation by the corporate watchdog raise serious questions about Mr Parker’s corporate conduct. In 2011 Mr Parker started Freenet — a business based on providing free internet to shoppers at places like supermarkets subsidised by advertisers. In setting up the company he raised nearly $ 3 million in private share sales to investors that included family and business people.
Despite claims of a partnership with Google and Motorola, Freenet never got off the ground. And the millions of dollars went down the drain.
When the dust settled Townsville’s Marianne Agius had lost more than $ 71,500 — money she had both saved and borrowed to invest with Mr Parker. She would later learn that the shares she bought in Freenet were never registered with ASIC. “That was my very first investment so I was fairly green to the idea,” she said. “He promised us the world. We firmly believed in him, he was so convincing. We wanted to support him but in the meantime he promised us good returns.”
Ms Agius ex- partner Sid Jackson, also Mr Parker’s father in law, was another investor who wished he’d never heard the name Freenet. It wasn’t just “mum and dad investors” like Mr Jackson and Ms Agius who were burnt.
Property businessman Ben White lost about $ 900,000 on the venture. He would later join the company as a director, install a financial controller and finally put the company into liquidation. During this time a forensic analysis of transactions was conducted to find out what had happened at Freenet.
The report alleged more than $ 1.06 million in irregular transactions were found including large amounts sent to Mr Parker’s own bank account. A liquidator’s report to Freenet creditors lodged with ASIC in January confirmed Parker was being examined by the regulator.
A similar story has emerged from one of Mr Parker’s earlier ventures Maxis Communications. Maxis was established in 2010 to build a data centre in Townsville. But two investors allege it never existed.
According to their solicitors, Mr Parker did not issue them shares until more than a year after they had coughed up $ 140,000 and only once they had lawyered up. A report prepared by their solicitors Dun- das Lawyers alleged Mr Parker diverted funds paid to Maxis into “a personal banking account”. The investors got their money back and did not go to police.
Maxis was deregistered by ASIC in 2013. Mr Parker is believed to have arrived in Tas- mania late last year setting up Greentail Aerospace Industries with himself as a director.
The company’s website has since been taken down and Mr Parker no longer lives in the high- end Sandy Bay residence which was listed as Greentail’s registered address with ASIC.
Freenet investor Ms Agius’ advice to anyone who cames across Mr Parker’s business ventures was “to run”. “Run as far away as you can from him because there’s no good news. Financially he will ruin you.”
Mr Parker could not be reached for comment.