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Air-conditioning inventor falsely claimed BHP as a customer to con money from investors.
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Melbourne director jailed for $1m investment fraud
20 April 2023
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A former Melbourne director has been sentenced to six months in jail after false claims about product sales to BHP that conned more than $1 million from investors.
Steven Phillip Heaton of South Melbourne was convicted by the County Court of Victoria on fraud charges brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and also ordered to complete a two-year community corrections order.
He was a formerly the director of Independent Products and HVPS Holdings, which were set up to commercialise an air-conditioning invention that Mr Heaton claimed had significant energy efficiencies.
An ASIC investigation found that between November 2015 and January 2017, Mr Heaton dishonestly made false representations to a number of investors by claiming that BHP Billiton Limited (as it was known) had purchased 100 units for its mining operations when it had not.
As a result, he attracted a total of $1,092,500.33 in loans to Independent Products and investments in HVPS Holdings.
Sentencing this week, Judge Rozen said Mr Heaton’s conduct constituted a deliberate and sophisticated fraud as well as a clear breach of trust.
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As a result of his conviction for dishonesty offences, Mr Heaton is automatically disqualified from managing corporations for five years starting from the date he is released from prison.
His community correction order also begins on his release and requires him to perform 200 hours of unpaid community work.
Mr Heaton had previously pleaded guilty to one count of obtaining a financial advantage by deception contrary to section 82(1) of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) and one count of fraudulently inducing persons to invest money contrary to section 191(1) of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) (22-281MR).
Independent Products has since been deregistered while HVPS Holdings is in liquidation.
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