Perth mum and dad investors who lost millions to alleged conman Ricky Hirsch are ramping up their calls for action.
His repossessed multimillion-dollar oceanfront mansion is about to go under the hammer but it’s unlikely any funds from the sale will make it to those left out of pocket.
Fulfil the Dream promised it all but for investors, it’s been nothing but a nightmare.
Katrina Patient and her husband invested $700,000 in an apartment development in Rockingham but the project never got off the ground.
“We work 14-hour days, we can’t provide the same opportunities we wanted to, we don’t have a house,” she told 9News, fighting back tears.
Hirsch and his model wife are living overseas, with their opulent lifestyle on display in social media posts.
Back in Perth, his repossessed Marmion beachfront mansion is open for inspection and about to go to auction in a vandalised state.
The roof is in disrepair, carpets, fittings and fixtures stripped.
It’s a far cry from how he purchased it for close to $2 million in 2016.
“He’s still living the high life,” investor Michaela Smith told 9News.
“There’s lavish weddings, they seem to reside between China, Indonesia and Bali but they also go on holidays all over the world, so they’re clearly doing OK.”
Smith and her family aren’t doing so well, after losing $130,000 from superannuation.
Their money was supposed to go towards an apartment complex in Scarborough but it remains a vacant block.
“A lot of stress, a lot of worry, a lot of anger,” Smith said.
Parents Peter and Lee Doyle lost $60,000 after apartments they poured inheritance into in Bassendean had to be demolished.
“We’re unable to buy a house now,” investor Mr Doyle said.
“There’s a family of five and we can’t buy our own house, we’re still renting.”
Doyle doesn’t believe the couple will recoup their losses any time soon.
“We’re at the bottom of the list,” he said.
“They come first – the tax man and all that kind of stuff. We’re not going to get any money back.”
Other developments started by Fulfil the Dream have also been left unfinished, including townhouses in Westminster, which are at lock-up stage but damaged.
A liquidator’s report into the company’s finances reveals 138 unsecured creditors, with claims totalling more than $16.5 million.
It also found the failure could potentially be due to “alleged fraud” and that there’s an argument the company became “insolvent by 30 June 2021”.
Creditors want ASIC to help trace the money trail.
“The people that are involved, are in the group of investors are down to earth, gritty, hard-working Aussies who just wanted to make the right choice with their finances for the future of their family and beyond,” Patient said.