The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has ensured a court order prohibiting Mayfair 101 director James Mawhinney from promoting and raising funds through financial products for 20 years. The court found that investors – including retirees to whom the products were sold as alternatives to term deposits, stand to lose a combined USD211 million raised by companies run by Mawhinney since 2016.
Australian media reported in 2019 that Mawhinney’s flagship company Mayfair 101 had bought more than 200 properties on the mainland, at Mission Beach, to support ambitious renovation plans. The following year, the ASIC acted against financial products offered by Mawhinney’s companies, which it alleged were marketed via “misleading” and “deceptive” advertisements and websites.