The alleged mastermind behind Australia’s biggest Ponzi scheme is reported to have used $50,000 from his late mother’s estate to prop up his multi-million dollar fraud.
Tony Iervasi, 53, is alleged to have also taken savings from his girlfriend, friends and family to begin a scam which fleeced $209 million from hundreds of investors.
Mr Iervasi, from Sydney, is alleged to have duped 780 creditors, including small business owners, mums, dads, and war veterans who invested in a syndicate run out of an office in Bondi Junction’s Westfield Tower.
His girlfriend, 42-year-old Nina Girsa, also claims she is owned $50,000 by Mr Iervasi, The Daily Telegraph reported.
She is not accused of any wrongdoing.
Tony Iervasi, 53, is alleged to have also taken savings from his girlfriend, friends and family to begin a scam which fleeced $209 million from hundreds of investors
Mr Iervasi, the 53-year-old alleged mastermind behind the illegal scheme, moved out of his family home two years ago and started a relationship with Nina Girsa, a Latvian-born beautician
Mr Iervasi’s girlfriend, 42-year-old Nina Girsa, is listed as a creditor of the now-liquidated Courtenay House. She is not accused of any wrongdoing
Mr Iervasi claims to have received death threats after his company was revealed to be operating the illegal scheme.
Liquidator Said Jahani said Mr Iervasi ‘fears for his life’ after being confronted by angry investors.
‘He has been telling people he has $100 million stashed away in a bank account in the US. My personal view is that’s not the case,’ Mr Jahani told the publication.
Mr Iervasi reportedly told the investors he could pay them back once he was given back access to company finances.
Mr Iervasi moved out of his family home two years ago and started a relationship with Ms Girsa, a Latvian-born beautician.
Mr Iervasi, from Sydney, is believed to have duped 780 creditors, including small business owners, mums, dads, and war veterans who invested in a syndicate run out of an office in Bondi Junction’s Westfield Tower
Mr Iervasi and Ms Girsa boasted of their exploits on social media, posting photos in first-class, enjoying resort swimming pools and sprawled out on beds surrounded by expensive brand-name shopping bags
The couple have been pictured living a life of luxury in five-star resorts across the world, including Las Vegas, Dubai, Hawaii and Venice.
Mr Iervasi and Ms Girsa boasted of their exploits on social media, posting photos in first-class, enjoying resort swimming pools and sprawled out on beds surrounded by expensive brand-name shopping bags.
Also posing in front of super cars and the back of yachts, the pair appeared more than willing to share their extravagant lifestyle with friends, family and followers.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday, Mr Jahani described the business as a ‘Ponzi scheme’.
‘It was purported to be an investment scheme, but the reality was there was none, or very little investment activity,’ he said.
The nature of a Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent operation which generates returns for earlier investors with money paid by new investors, rather than from profit made through legitimate trading.
Mr Iervasi reportedly told the investors he could pay them back once he was given back access to company finances
Also posing at exclusive events, the pair appeared more than willing to share their extravagant lifestyle with friends, family and followers
Mr Jahani told Daily Mail Australia the company kept no legitimate books or records which made investigations more difficult.
‘We have to recreate a lot of the records, it’s quite painstaking,’ he said.
‘But we’re far enough into it that it gives us confidence to make the statement it’s a Ponzi scheme.’
Mr Iervasi’s business claimed to trade in foreign currency exchange markets and offered investors huge returns of up to 25 percent.
Now under investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the company was dissolved following the appointment of a liquidator.
ASIC told Daily Mail Australia it was unable to comment on the investigation because it was before court.
Mr Iervasi’s (pictured with Ms Girsa) claims to have received death threats since news of his Ponzi scheme broke
Meanwhile, the company director alleged by liquidators to be behind the Ponzi scheme falsely told investors Malcolm Turnbull plunged money into the operation to persuade them to stump up cash.
David Sipina also posted a photo of himself shaking hands with Mr Turnbull on his now deleted Facebook page.
An investor who lost $400,000 in the Ponzi scheme, Mark Tobin, said David Sipina used the Prime Minister as a ploy to wrangle more investors into the illegal operation.
‘He said Malcolm Turnbull is investing in Courtenay House,’ Mr Tobin told The Daily Telegraph.
Malcolm Turnbull did not know David Sipina nor did he invest in the Ponzi scheme, according to a spokesman for the Prime Minister.
David Sipina (pictured) also posted a photo of himself shaking hands with Mr Turnbull on his now deleted Facebook page
Mr Sipina was the company director for Courtenay House, which was revealed by liquidators on Wednesday to allegedly be Australia’s biggest ever Ponzi scheme.
A separate company with Mr Sipina as its sole director was also frozen, according to the publication.
According to ASIC records, Mr Sipina, a former Bondi and Districts Chamber of Commerce assistant treasurer, has also been banned from holding a financial services license.
Mr Sipina has declined requests by the liquidator to be interviewed about his alleged involvement in the Ponzi scheme.
While he has remained quiet, he might be one of about 20 people and institutions forced to give evidence in court.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Sipina for comment.