Storm Financial is reported in the Sydney Morning Herald today as representing wholesale fraud against investors,the public, and lots of small mums and dads who put their life savings into that institution. Could it now be time to roll back the essential erosion of the machinery of justice, that allowed this to happen. Was it the duty of the Commonwealth to regulate these things,and if it was negligent in doing so, shouldn't it be held responsible, and at least in some way made accountable. Can this happen while the legal system is dominated by lawyers? It is essentially a legal problem, with forged mortgages, dodgy loans, deception and downright dishonesty. Is ASIC effective at all?

The report in the Sydney Morning Herald is only the tip of a large iceberg. I have had very distressed people come to see me, and it turned out that they had never signed a mortgage,but nearly a million dollars had appeared in their bank account. This had paid out a previous mortgage, which also looked dodgy.

The first thing they knew about something being wrong, was when a repossession agent came looking for a bulldozer, excavator and rock crusher, bought on finance, in the name of a company they owned. The signatures on their loan application had been electronically copied, and affixed to two years tax returns, the Bank was told they were making a profit of $400,000 a year. Tax Department letters were forged, the signatures on the Tax Returns were electronically generated, the signature on the Mortgage was electronically generated. The Bulldozer, Excavator and rock crusher, were eventually located, and had four separate loan contracts on them from four separate lenders of $1.2 million dollars each.

I think it is time that lawyers lost their monopoly on legal work, and total honesty and integrity was restored to Australia's legal system, and legislation making everyone a law enforcement officer, was accepted by all courts everywhere. There is no need for any new laws, just enforcement of the ones we have. Are there any more horror stories out there?

Totally agee Peter,but the legal disease also infects our Govts.It is time for ordinary folk to rise up and be counted.

When we have too many parasites feeding off the host,eventually the host dies and so do the parasites.

people need to know that legal copies of documents carry no weight[unless they are the origonal, but because people are kept ignorant,they get conned by the lawyers

self representation is what people must be doing[by knowing a few thgings it isnt that hard[if the oppisition makes a submission[it must be corrected, because suprise suprise lawyers lie

[if only by ommision..[its worth knowing that without the origonal document..there is no case..[but if your not questioning their legality the lawyers win by default]...lawyer put in submissions before the court that stand as legal[if you dont rebut them]

its often NOT knowing simple things..that strip ignorant imbisiles[the great unwashed]..of their assets and estates..silence signifies concent

[meaning failure to correct the error means under law ..it is REGARDED as true[because ..they reason,if wrong..you would correct that in error...

clearly a photcopy is a lie..but only if you point it out,in court

It seems to me that this thread is 'off toppic' already. Is it not about 'Storm Financial'!

As for SF, it is to early to know what has happened and most of what is being said is just 'hear say'.

I happen to know quite a few former investors and I have flollowed them for several years.

I can tell you that not one of them was complaining when they were making double digit anual returns on investments then all of a sudden they hate the founders of SF.

Everyone forgets the one simple rule when investing; 'don't have all your eggs in one basket'.

Now how anyone can be so nieve to think they can borrow upwards of
1 Millon dollars, on a pension, defied logic. "But it's ok, the adviser says so"

While it is about SF, it is also about how to prevent it happening again. I believe it is the responsibility of Our Big Brother, the government to protect his little sisters and brothers from predators. If the Minder allows predators to come into the system and prey upon the members of the Commonwealth, then my thinking is the buck stops with Big Brother.

This was sloppy Howard Government regulation, and about selling favors to big contributors to the Liberal Party. The Liberal Party sponsored legislation, starting in 1953, to allow total laissez faire capitalism in Australia by firstly nobbling the High Court. Then they gave their lawyer mates a monopoly on representation in Federal Courts in 1978. Then when they created the Federal Court they gave all power to a Judge. This is sloppy unconstitutional government.

In 1986, the Labor Party enacted the Legislation to end this sloppy conduct. They enacted the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as Schedule 2 to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986. Properly applied this would have prevented this Storm. In 2001, in the Australian Securities and Investment Commission Act 2001 they legislated that the conduct of Storm, could be regulated by a proceeding in a court. By section 12 HC the conduct of any financial institution in breach of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission Act 2001 which this was, could be prosecuted in the Federal Court. Ha de haa de haa. Not without the consent of the minister it could not. 12 HC (3) says Must not be instituted without the consent of the Minister, or a person authorized by the Minister to give such consents.

This gave the Minister a stick to extract donations for the Liberal Party, from any Big Corporation, that offended the Australian Securities and Investment Commission Act 2001. A great rort don’t you think. Of course that is contrary to the enactment of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, but now you know why they are in denial. It is time KR faced the fact he is not a Liberal