Alleged Perth investment fraudster accused of contacting witnesses in ‘Ponzi scheme' case
Applecross father Michael Dunjey, 52, was the director of Ascent Investment and Coaching Pty Ltd before the Federal Court forced its closure in 2023 following accusations the company was a Ponzi scheme.
Complaints were made to ASIC as early as 2017, leading them to seek freezing orders in 2022 in the civil court after they alleged he was operating without a license and falsifying financial records.
At the time, it was alleged he owed $149 million to clients.
Following that investigation, Dunjey – who now lives in Melbourne – was arrested and charged with 23 counts of fraudulently obtaining a benefit in relation to more than $4 million of investor funds, five counts of failing to act in good faith relating to the use of just under $2.5 million, and five counts of falsifying books relating to the company's annual returns.
During his second appearance on Friday, Perth Magistrates Court was told Dunjey had been instructed at his first hearing not to contact a list of witnesses who were party to the case, but he had allegedly breached that order.
Dunjey allegedly reached out to one witness via text after her mother died, the court was told, with Commonwealth prosecutors flagging they would seek to revoke his bail if it happened again.
Dunjey's lawyer told the court his client had admitted the breach, that the witness was 'a long-term friend', and it would not happen again.
Dunjey also applied to appear at his next hearing via video link from Melbourne, where he now resides with his wife and children.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Advertiser
2 days ago
- The Advertiser
Why 'racist' preacher couldn't be charged by police
An Islamist preacher who called Jewish people "vile" couldn't face criminal sanctions but new laws might soon allow police to lay charges for similar comments. A ruling in the Federal Court described Wissam Haddad's speech as containing "fundamentally racist and anti-Semitic" tropes and making "perverse generalisations" about Jewish people. But police did not have scope to lay criminal charges when the incident was assessed, a senior officer has revealed. "The legal advice was it wouldn't reach the threshold for prosecution," NSW Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson told a state parliamentary inquiry on Friday. The prospects of prosecution would change under laws taking effect in August, he added, although the legislation was not retrospective. Mr Haddad has been ordered by the court to remove the sermons from social media and not publicly repeat similar statements. The change targets intentional incitement of racial hatred, while existing laws dealt with publicly threatening or inciting violence. "The difficulties in the legislation are well known within the Jewish community, which is why the civil action was commenced under a different threshold," Mr Hudson said. The new law would "fill that gap", he said. Its narrow focus on race has drawn criticism but the law may be expanded to protect other groups in the future. The inquiry examining anti-Semitism in NSW was set up in February after incidents including the firebombing of a non-religious childcare centre near a synagogue and a Jewish primary school in Sydney's east. The state Labor government used the incidents as part of its justification for also expanding anti-protest laws to ban rallies outside places of worship. Australia's special envoy to combat anti-Semitism Jillian Segal clashed with politicians at the inquiry over a call to ban pro-Palestine protests she labelled "intimidatory" and "sinister" from city centre streets. Labor MP Stephen Lawrence suggested her comments were an "uncivil way to describe them and the people participating" and risked creating a perception in the Jewish community that the state was letting them down. "These sorts of calls that ultimately aren't grounded in law and reality can have a pernicious effect," he said. Ms Segal did not accept that characterisation but acknowledged she had not attended the protests. She relied on experiences detailed by those in the vicinity who had felt intimidated. "It was really the vehemence and the violence for what was being advocated that I was objecting to," Ms Segal said. "We should be able to go to our city and not feel that. "They were being jostled, they weren't allowed to cross, there was shouting … and they were angry they could not access the shops that they wished to." Moriah College principal Miriam Hasofer told the inquiry her school was spending $3.9 million a year on security, a figure that had nearly doubled since October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel. "Education is constantly disrupted, our teachers are drained, our wellbeing team is overstretched," she said. "Our leaders are operating like a counter-terrorism unit and this has become our normal." The Jewish school, in Sydney's east, faced an average of one security incident per week in 2025, she said. A spate of high-profile attacks over summer included the targeting of a Jewish community leader's former home and the spray-painting of anti-Semitic slurs in various prominent locations. Mr Hudson said reports of anti-Semitism have increased. More than 1100 hate incidents have been reported so far in 2025 - a third of which were anti-Semitic, compared with just over one-fifth of 1300 incidents reported in 2023. An Islamist preacher who called Jewish people "vile" couldn't face criminal sanctions but new laws might soon allow police to lay charges for similar comments. A ruling in the Federal Court described Wissam Haddad's speech as containing "fundamentally racist and anti-Semitic" tropes and making "perverse generalisations" about Jewish people. But police did not have scope to lay criminal charges when the incident was assessed, a senior officer has revealed. "The legal advice was it wouldn't reach the threshold for prosecution," NSW Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson told a state parliamentary inquiry on Friday. The prospects of prosecution would change under laws taking effect in August, he added, although the legislation was not retrospective. Mr Haddad has been ordered by the court to remove the sermons from social media and not publicly repeat similar statements. The change targets intentional incitement of racial hatred, while existing laws dealt with publicly threatening or inciting violence. "The difficulties in the legislation are well known within the Jewish community, which is why the civil action was commenced under a different threshold," Mr Hudson said. The new law would "fill that gap", he said. Its narrow focus on race has drawn criticism but the law may be expanded to protect other groups in the future. The inquiry examining anti-Semitism in NSW was set up in February after incidents including the firebombing of a non-religious childcare centre near a synagogue and a Jewish primary school in Sydney's east. The state Labor government used the incidents as part of its justification for also expanding anti-protest laws to ban rallies outside places of worship. Australia's special envoy to combat anti-Semitism Jillian Segal clashed with politicians at the inquiry over a call to ban pro-Palestine protests she labelled "intimidatory" and "sinister" from city centre streets. Labor MP Stephen Lawrence suggested her comments were an "uncivil way to describe them and the people participating" and risked creating a perception in the Jewish community that the state was letting them down. "These sorts of calls that ultimately aren't grounded in law and reality can have a pernicious effect," he said. Ms Segal did not accept that characterisation but acknowledged she had not attended the protests. She relied on experiences detailed by those in the vicinity who had felt intimidated. "It was really the vehemence and the violence for what was being advocated that I was objecting to," Ms Segal said. "We should be able to go to our city and not feel that. "They were being jostled, they weren't allowed to cross, there was shouting … and they were angry they could not access the shops that they wished to." Moriah College principal Miriam Hasofer told the inquiry her school was spending $3.9 million a year on security, a figure that had nearly doubled since October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel. "Education is constantly disrupted, our teachers are drained, our wellbeing team is overstretched," she said. "Our leaders are operating like a counter-terrorism unit and this has become our normal." The Jewish school, in Sydney's east, faced an average of one security incident per week in 2025, she said. A spate of high-profile attacks over summer included the targeting of a Jewish community leader's former home and the spray-painting of anti-Semitic slurs in various prominent locations. Mr Hudson said reports of anti-Semitism have increased. More than 1100 hate incidents have been reported so far in 2025 - a third of which were anti-Semitic, compared with just over one-fifth of 1300 incidents reported in 2023. An Islamist preacher who called Jewish people "vile" couldn't face criminal sanctions but new laws might soon allow police to lay charges for similar comments. A ruling in the Federal Court described Wissam Haddad's speech as containing "fundamentally racist and anti-Semitic" tropes and making "perverse generalisations" about Jewish people. But police did not have scope to lay criminal charges when the incident was assessed, a senior officer has revealed. "The legal advice was it wouldn't reach the threshold for prosecution," NSW Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson told a state parliamentary inquiry on Friday. The prospects of prosecution would change under laws taking effect in August, he added, although the legislation was not retrospective. Mr Haddad has been ordered by the court to remove the sermons from social media and not publicly repeat similar statements. The change targets intentional incitement of racial hatred, while existing laws dealt with publicly threatening or inciting violence. "The difficulties in the legislation are well known within the Jewish community, which is why the civil action was commenced under a different threshold," Mr Hudson said. The new law would "fill that gap", he said. Its narrow focus on race has drawn criticism but the law may be expanded to protect other groups in the future. The inquiry examining anti-Semitism in NSW was set up in February after incidents including the firebombing of a non-religious childcare centre near a synagogue and a Jewish primary school in Sydney's east. The state Labor government used the incidents as part of its justification for also expanding anti-protest laws to ban rallies outside places of worship. Australia's special envoy to combat anti-Semitism Jillian Segal clashed with politicians at the inquiry over a call to ban pro-Palestine protests she labelled "intimidatory" and "sinister" from city centre streets. Labor MP Stephen Lawrence suggested her comments were an "uncivil way to describe them and the people participating" and risked creating a perception in the Jewish community that the state was letting them down. "These sorts of calls that ultimately aren't grounded in law and reality can have a pernicious effect," he said. Ms Segal did not accept that characterisation but acknowledged she had not attended the protests. She relied on experiences detailed by those in the vicinity who had felt intimidated. "It was really the vehemence and the violence for what was being advocated that I was objecting to," Ms Segal said. "We should be able to go to our city and not feel that. "They were being jostled, they weren't allowed to cross, there was shouting … and they were angry they could not access the shops that they wished to." Moriah College principal Miriam Hasofer told the inquiry her school was spending $3.9 million a year on security, a figure that had nearly doubled since October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel. "Education is constantly disrupted, our teachers are drained, our wellbeing team is overstretched," she said. "Our leaders are operating like a counter-terrorism unit and this has become our normal." The Jewish school, in Sydney's east, faced an average of one security incident per week in 2025, she said. A spate of high-profile attacks over summer included the targeting of a Jewish community leader's former home and the spray-painting of anti-Semitic slurs in various prominent locations. Mr Hudson said reports of anti-Semitism have increased. More than 1100 hate incidents have been reported so far in 2025 - a third of which were anti-Semitic, compared with just over one-fifth of 1300 incidents reported in 2023. An Islamist preacher who called Jewish people "vile" couldn't face criminal sanctions but new laws might soon allow police to lay charges for similar comments. A ruling in the Federal Court described Wissam Haddad's speech as containing "fundamentally racist and anti-Semitic" tropes and making "perverse generalisations" about Jewish people. But police did not have scope to lay criminal charges when the incident was assessed, a senior officer has revealed. "The legal advice was it wouldn't reach the threshold for prosecution," NSW Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson told a state parliamentary inquiry on Friday. The prospects of prosecution would change under laws taking effect in August, he added, although the legislation was not retrospective. Mr Haddad has been ordered by the court to remove the sermons from social media and not publicly repeat similar statements. The change targets intentional incitement of racial hatred, while existing laws dealt with publicly threatening or inciting violence. "The difficulties in the legislation are well known within the Jewish community, which is why the civil action was commenced under a different threshold," Mr Hudson said. The new law would "fill that gap", he said. Its narrow focus on race has drawn criticism but the law may be expanded to protect other groups in the future. The inquiry examining anti-Semitism in NSW was set up in February after incidents including the firebombing of a non-religious childcare centre near a synagogue and a Jewish primary school in Sydney's east. The state Labor government used the incidents as part of its justification for also expanding anti-protest laws to ban rallies outside places of worship. Australia's special envoy to combat anti-Semitism Jillian Segal clashed with politicians at the inquiry over a call to ban pro-Palestine protests she labelled "intimidatory" and "sinister" from city centre streets. Labor MP Stephen Lawrence suggested her comments were an "uncivil way to describe them and the people participating" and risked creating a perception in the Jewish community that the state was letting them down. "These sorts of calls that ultimately aren't grounded in law and reality can have a pernicious effect," he said. Ms Segal did not accept that characterisation but acknowledged she had not attended the protests. She relied on experiences detailed by those in the vicinity who had felt intimidated. "It was really the vehemence and the violence for what was being advocated that I was objecting to," Ms Segal said. "We should be able to go to our city and not feel that. "They were being jostled, they weren't allowed to cross, there was shouting … and they were angry they could not access the shops that they wished to." Moriah College principal Miriam Hasofer told the inquiry her school was spending $3.9 million a year on security, a figure that had nearly doubled since October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel. "Education is constantly disrupted, our teachers are drained, our wellbeing team is overstretched," she said. "Our leaders are operating like a counter-terrorism unit and this has become our normal." The Jewish school, in Sydney's east, faced an average of one security incident per week in 2025, she said. A spate of high-profile attacks over summer included the targeting of a Jewish community leader's former home and the spray-painting of anti-Semitic slurs in various prominent locations. Mr Hudson said reports of anti-Semitism have increased. More than 1100 hate incidents have been reported so far in 2025 - a third of which were anti-Semitic, compared with just over one-fifth of 1300 incidents reported in 2023.
West Australian
2 days ago
- West Australian
ASIC loses big as Federal Court clears Wal King and Terracom directors of misleading market
A Federal Court judge has dealt the corporate regulator a major defeat, clearing one-time construction heavyweight Wal King and other former and current directors of coal company Terracom of allegations they misled investors. Handing down his decision on Friday, Justice Ian Jackman criticised parts of the civil case argued by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission as 'plainly untenable' and 'unworthy'. The ASIC lawsuit alleged Mr King, the listed Terracom's former chair, former director Craig Ransley, former chief financial officer Nathan Boom and current chief executive Danny McCarthy misled the market over a whistleblower's claim the listed company was rigging the quality of its coal to get better prices from its customers. However, in clearing the men, Justice Jackman said ASIC 'should have known' that most of the charges 'had no realistic chance of success, except perhaps in relation to some minor aspects'. The regulator claimed that the quartet misled investors by approving public and ASX statements in early 2020 that said the listed Terracom had been 'exonerated' of whistleblower Justin William's allegations that quality certificates on thermal coal produced by the Blair Athol mine in Queensland had been manipulated. ASIC also alleged the men failed to act with the requisite degree of care and diligence in the discharge of their duties as directors and officers of the company. It said on Friday it would review Justice Jackman's decision before deciding on an appeal. Mr King was one of Australia's highest-profile chief executives as head of Leighton Holdings, running the construction giant for 23 years before retiring in 2010. ASIC's case included the claim that he was obliged as a director to read a PwC report commissioned by Terracom's lawyers Ashurst that found quality 'inconsistencies' in 12 of 14 coal shipments tested. Terracom's testing partner, ALS, separately disclosed in February 2020 after Mr Williams' claims that it found some quality certificates had been changed 'without justification'. However, Justice Jackman rejected ASIC's arguments about Mr King, saying 'none of the other directors or executives ever suggested to Mr King that the PwC report required consideration or raised concerns'. 'On 27 February 2020, Mr King attended a meeting with TerraCom's auditors (EY), who then had a separate meeting with Ashurst for 1½ hours for the purpose of going through the PwC report, before returning and confirming that EY had no issue with the PwC report and would provide a clean half-yearly report the following day, which is what occurred,' Justice Jackman said. He also described as 'one of the more extraordinary features of ASIC's case' its contention that Mr McCarthy and Mr Boom should themselves have investigated Mr Williams' allegations, 'despite the fact that Mr McCarthy and Mr Boom were the subject of the allegations made by Mr Williams which were investigated by PwC'. 'They were plainly in a position of conflict, with a real and sensible personal interest in the investigation or inquiries,' he said. 'The position taken by ASIC is plainly untenable.' A separate ASIC whistleblower victimisation case against Terracom is still in court.
The Age
3 days ago
- The Age
Alleged Perth investment fraudster accused of contacting witnesses in ‘Ponzi scheme' case
A Perth court has been told an alleged investment fraudster who owes $149 million to clients has contacted witnesses who would be party to his case. Applecross father Michael Dunjey, 52, was the director of Ascent Investment and Coaching Pty Ltd before the Federal Court forced its closure in 2023 following accusations the company was a Ponzi scheme. Complaints were made to ASIC as early as 2017, leading them to seek freezing orders in 2022 in the civil court after they alleged he was operating without a license and falsifying financial records. At the time, it was alleged he owed $149 million to clients. Following that investigation, Dunjey – who now lives in Melbourne – was arrested and charged with 23 counts of fraudulently obtaining a benefit in relation to more than $4 million of investor funds, five counts of failing to act in good faith relating to the use of just under $2.5 million, and five counts of falsifying books relating to the company's annual returns. During his second appearance on Friday, Perth Magistrates Court was told Dunjey had been instructed at his first hearing not to contact a list of witnesses who were party to the case, but he had allegedly breached that order. Dunjey allegedly reached out to one witness via text after her mother died, the court was told, with Commonwealth prosecutors flagging they would seek to revoke his bail if it happened again. Dunjey's lawyer told the court his client had admitted the breach, that the witness was 'a long-term friend', and it would not happen again. Dunjey also applied to appear at his next hearing via video link from Melbourne, where he now resides with his wife and children.
