A Gold Coast man who allegedly ran a global investment scam worth almost $12 million has been charged with 25 fraud offences.
Photo: 123RF
Anthony David Gray, 54, from Paradise Point was arrested in New Zealand and extradited to Australia overnight.
Mr Gray has appeared in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on 25 counts of fraud and did not apply for bail.
His arrest follows a year-long investigation, dubbed Operation Quebec Kidback, following multiple complaints from people in Australia and overseas.
Mr Gray's alleged victims trusted his legal and financial advice, handing over hundreds of thousands of dollars in what they thought was a sound property investment scheme.
Police have alleged that between May 2007 and November 2016, Mr Gray - acting as a solicitor and financial planner - ran a bogus property investment scheme based on short-term bridging loans under a number of companies supposedly based in New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Mr Gray allegedly promised investors that developers would pay high interest for funds borrowed over a short period until the banks funded the developers' projects.
Police said the scheme did not exist.
Mr Gray's co-accused, a 72-year-old woman, was arrested at a home on Dornoch Terrace in Highgate Hill, Queensland, on 31 January.
She appeared in court on 25 February, charged with nine counts of fraud.
To date, 21 alleged victims from Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, the United Kingdom, the USA and Europe have come forward with losses totalling $AU11,960,000 ($NZ12.4m).
It is alleged one couple lost $2,814,416 ($NZ2.9m) and another woman lost $2,025,000 ($NZ2.1m).
The Financial and Cyber Crime Group said it believed there may be more alleged victims who had yet to come forward.
The case will return to court on April 1.
- ABC