Storm Financial Group

Chrisgee
Im wondering how old you are? If you are not near retirement age the good thing is that you still have time on your side to rebuild as Trevor said.

I dont mind sharing with you that I have been ripped off many times in my life,
always too trusting and naive to think that people DIDNT have my best interests at heart - especially when I was paying them. Duh.
Although I never lost my house or owed the bank a lot of money via a margin loan, being scammed/ripped off is a horrible feeling.

I kept asking myself why me?

Eventually I realised that not only was I too trusting and gullible but basically I was also lazy. Never could be bothered wading my way through product disclosure statements or "terms and conditions", I even had trouble reading operating manuals for various equipment.

I am an excellent reader but just found all the financial/technical lingo boring.
I was basically ignorant about financial matters as well, I remember getting sucked into an AMP fund years ago when I was young, I couldnt wait to get out of the advisor's office and go to the pub, it was soooooo boring the way he was going on and on about stuff I didnt understand.

Years later I worked out that if I had put my money in a shoebox under my bed I would have had more in the box than in the AMP fund, my money was eroded by all the fees. If I had bothered to learn about the "product" I wouldnt have touched it with a barge pole.

Another sucker story for you Chrisgee; when I first started in my business I got scammed for a couple of thousand dollars - by fake invoicing and fake threatening legal action letters. Again, I didnt do my homework - stupid me just paid up after they started phoning me 5 times a day threatening me.
Sure, I was under duress and actually quite scared of these people but it was me who was dumb by paying. I should have looked at the government scamwatch site FIRST.

I am sorry you are in financial trouble by having faith in a CONMAN. Please ask yourself what your part in it was so that you learn your lesson well.
Were you naive, gullible, greedy, too trusting, ignorant etc etc.....
Im not having a go at you, just trying to let you know you arent the first to be conned and certainly wont be the last. All you can do is savvy up and get smarter, educate yourself so that you wont fall prey to the next spruiker.

In my opinion, it would be unwise for you to focus on the "justice" side of things by going with the herd with Slater & Gordon and expecting a miracle. Do some research on them and the way they operate before you give them any of your money.
I highly doubt that the banks involved will be found to have done anything that is illegal, maybe unethical but not illegal. If I am right you wont be seeing the money you lost returned to you by the banks.

It is a bitter pill to swallow, being conned, and of course it will take time for you to move on, just make sure you move in the right direction - towards educating yourself so that you have the freedom to make your own decisions and not follow the latest financial guru.

Good luck Chrisgee.

Great comments by Trevor and Farencue.

Chrisgee, as you've seen from Farencue's story, you're far from alone in being conned. I allowed this to happen too.

It was many years ago and I was poor at the time, lacked the confidence to invest in a very volatile share market at the time, retail deposit rates were low and I needed more income.

Friends (who had previously been heavily involved in the market) had switched to putting their capital in a solicitor's private mortgage scheme. They'd used this for several years over a range of development ventures, always had the interest paid on time and their capital returned when the development was complete.

I contacted the solicitor. Was sent a range of development options all of which were offering about 4% over the retail interest rate. Now, I had misgivings about this but the documentation all seemed to stack up and the LVR in none of the ventures was more than 70%. There were detailed valuations by a registered valuer.

Went ahead and invested most of my then available capital (not much by today's standards but a lot to me at the time). The first two projects went fine - I received the interest every month on time and the capital back at the end. The next one was the redevelopment of a building on a prime site in Surfers Paradise. They sent photographs plus detailed plans of projected alterations and final outcome. The usual registered valuations also were provided.

After a few months, the interest payment didn't arrive. Contacted the firm. Told - as you would expect - no problem, just a minor hitch. Will all be fixed soon. I never received any more interest. The whole private mortgage scheme fell over, thousands of investors lost most of their money.
ASIC appointed Worrell's as liquidators and their fees absorbed what value was left when the various properties were sold.
Turned out the work was not even started on several of the schemes and all the registered valuations were complete rubbish.

There was much media activity for a while (similar to Storm) but eventually something else became more interesting.
One investor who had lost several million attempted to get a class action established but in the end concluded it would be simply a way to lose more money.

The solicitor was eventually prosecuted by ASIC.

So, Chrisgee, many of us have been conned. I don't blame anyone but myself. I knew the higher interest rate was a warning. There's always a warning somewhere with cons. You just have to be prepared to see it and act on it.

You will make your own decision about whether Slater and Gordon have your interests at heart or their own. I'd just suggest you ask yourself why they should be "seeking justice" for you: they're most certainly not a welfare agency.

Good luck.

"Storm Financial Sells Melbourne Office at a Loss After Just 4 Months"

"RECEIVERS for failed investment planning company Storm Financial have reaped just $5.7 million from the sale of a city-fringe office building, once earmarked to be the group’s Melbourne headquarters."

See more here by Marc Pallisco in RealEstatesource.com.au

http://www.realestatesource.com.au/Victoria/Storm-Financial-Sells-Melbourne-Office-at-a-Loss-After-Just-4-Months.html

Julia said:

Great comments by Trevor and Farencue.

Chrisgee, as you've seen from Farencue's story, you're far from alone in being conned. I allowed this to happen too.

It was many years ago and I was poor at the time, lacked the confidence to invest in a very volatile share market at the time, retail deposit rates were low and I needed more income.

Friends (who had previously been heavily involved in the market) had switched to putting their capital in a solicitor's private mortgage scheme. They'd used this for several years over a range of development ventures, always had the interest paid on time and their capital returned when the development was complete.

I contacted the solicitor. Was sent a range of development options all of which were offering about 4% over the retail interest rate. Now, I had misgivings about this but the documentation all seemed to stack up and the LVR in none of the ventures was more than 70%. There were detailed valuations by a registered valuer.

Went ahead and invested most of my then available capital (not much by today's standards but a lot to me at the time). The first two projects went fine - I received the interest every month on time and the capital back at the end. The next one was the redevelopment of a building on a prime site in Surfers Paradise. They sent photographs plus detailed plans of projected alterations and final outcome. The usual registered valuations also were provided.

After a few months, the interest payment didn't arrive. Contacted the firm. Told - as you would expect - no problem, just a minor hitch. Will all be fixed soon. I never received any more interest. The whole private mortgage scheme fell over, thousands of investors lost most of their money.
ASIC appointed Worrell's as liquidators and their fees absorbed what value was left when the various properties were sold.
Turned out the work was not even started on several of the schemes and all the registered valuations were complete rubbish.

There was much media activity for a while (similar to Storm) but eventually something else became more interesting.
One investor who had lost several million attempted to get a class action established but in the end concluded it would be simply a way to lose more money.

The solicitor was eventually prosecuted by ASIC.

So, Chrisgee, many of us have been conned. I don't blame anyone but myself. I knew the higher interest rate was a warning. There's always a warning somewhere with cons. You just have to be prepared to see it and act on it.

You will make your own decision about whether Slater and Gordon have your interests at heart or their own. I'd just suggest you ask yourself why they should be "seeking justice" for you: they're most certainly not a welfare agency.

Good luck.

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Thanks everybody for the posts it is great to read them. i suppose its hard to come to terms to what has happened this is the time of life where the family sholud be having an easier time rather than working like 20 year olds starting out again. nothing can change what has happened so we will just continue on making the best of wots happened. i am just very untrustworthy of people now. who is really wanting to help and who is just in it for themselves.
i read in another post were mr gg is asking where the cassimatises are , i would like to know too, why did they present themseleves as the people to trust your life savings with and more and now they are no where to be seen. they were always very vocal before like in thier adverts. why havent we heard thier side and why is nothing happening? i dont know who is to balme for the world financial crisis but surely the little ordinary person shouldnt bear the brunt of all of this

chrisgee said:

why did they present themseleves as the people to trust your life savings with and more and now they are no where to be seen. they were always very vocal before like in thier adverts. why havent we heard thier side and why is nothing happening? i dont know who is to balme for the world financial crisis but surely the little ordinary person shouldnt bear the brunt of all of this

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1. they wanted you to support them get their company back so they could make more money for themselves ( and might have just wanted to strip the company of more funds )

2. It was the little ordinary person who contributed more than their fair share to the crisis by borrowing too much to pay for housing, and consuming at a greater pace then they could support.

[mr gg is asking where the cassimatises are , i would like to know too,


Perhaps Cerebrus could shed some light on that for us, we were told that it was all going to become clearer in the weeks to come , well they have come and past, and unfortunately Cerebrus, who promised so much has delivered , well , need i explain.

chrisgee said:

i would like to know too, why did they present themseleves as the people to trust your life savings with and more and now they are no where to be seen.

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Hi again Chrisgee

Please look at the question you have posed above. Again, I do not wish to be offensive to you. Everything I say to you does not come from a motive to put you down. Ponder the question for a while and I would be very interested in what YOU come up with as an answer. This is your first step towards empowerment. A lot of us here know the answer to your question, but as I suggested you need to educate yourself. If you get stuck coming up with an answer yourself then please ask the question of the forum again.

they were always very vocal before like in thier adverts. why havent we heard thier side and why is nothing happening?

More thinking and research for you to do in empowering yourself Chrisgee:
1)Why do you think these people were vocal in their adverts?

2) What do you think their side could possibly be? That the banks are mean and nasty? Did the banks do anything ILLEGAL in your case?

We did in fact hear their side - do you recall what their side of the story was?
Their excuse is a "black swan event". Google that term and decide for yourself if that is in fact what happened.

i dont know who is to balme for the world financial crisis but surely the little ordinary person shouldnt bear the brunt of all of this

1) The question is not who but what is to blame for the world financial crisis. It is not one almighty powerful godperson pulling strings. It is a culmination of events, obviously not good ones. You can easily find information on this or ask somebody on here for a simpler explanation if you get overwhelmed by all the lingo.
2) We are all little ordinary persons Chrisgee. (except maybe Mr gg)
Together we are a collective of little ordinary persons. It affects all of us, some more so than others, depending on the financial decisions they have made and the position they are in.

I understand you may not be 20 and have your whole lifetime ahead in which to regain your finances and Im sorry you are in that position.

Who are you getting advice from now to salvage what you have left and to rebuild financially?

I understand this has made you not trust people, I have been through that myself. This is why you need to get on the front foot and get clued up about scams, con men and the bastards of the world. Remember, to them you are not a person but a mark, a target. They only care about themselves.

There are no dumb questions, only ones that you dont know the answer to yet so ask, ask, ask.
You will recover from this, you will trust again but hopefully next time it will be on your terms.

All the best.

"Storm Financial tales of heartbreak – 'We have lost it all"

"THEY were self-funded retirees, debt free, with their own home, four mortgage-free investment properties that were generating income, a 2ha block of land, $973,000 in savings, $78,000 in shares and $150,000 in superannuation."


Story by Lendl Ryan in The Townsville Bulletin is here;


http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2009/05/06/52261_hpnews.html


Also have a look at the latest submissions to the
Inquiry into Financial Products and Services in Australia at;

http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/corporations_ctte/fps/submissions/sublist.htm

Solly said:

...self-funded retirees, debt free, with their own home, four mortgage-free investment properties that were generating income, a 2ha block of land, $973,000 in savings, $78,000 in shares and $150,000 in superannuation.

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"Our dream was to enjoy our lives, fund ourselves and still be able to provide for our children with a legacy to help their futures," they said.

And the assets they held wasn't enough???!!! WTF!

$$$$ signs in their eyes, aka greed, although they will not admit to that. And a supposed businessman to boot. The $1.2m+ in cashable assets would have been enough Wow factor for most.

No sympathy.

Judd said:

"Our dream was to enjoy our lives, fund ourselves and still be able to provide for our children with a legacy to help their futures," they said.

And the assets they held wasn't enough???!!! WTF!

$$$$ signs in their eyes, aka greed, although they will not admit to that. And a supposed businessman to boot. The $1.2m+ in cashable assets would have been enough Wow factor for most.

No sympathy.

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It all comes down to GREED, nothing more, nothing less, GREED.
Now they blame every one but them self, no sympathy here.

THEY were self-funded retirees, debt free, with their own home, four mortgage-free investment properties that were generating income, a 2ha block of land, $973,000 in savings, $78,000 in shares and $150,000 in superannuation.

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"We had no grand plans for five-star luxury or limitless holidays, expensive cars, houses or extravagant living, simply to live comfortably and by our own means.

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"Our dream was to enjoy our lives, fund ourselves and still be able to provide for our children with a legacy to help their futures," they said.

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Seems to me that they had already achieved their goal prior to their decision to invest in Storm Financial.

Makes you wonder how they succeeded in achieving the level of assets they already had that they could be so stupid.

I'll never understand that kind of pure greed.

Julia said:

Makes you wonder how they succeeded in achieving the level of assets they already had that they could be so stupid.

I'll never understand that kind of pure greed.

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Julia , good it wasn't just me that thought that, i also like the line "Will we see justice served?" , well yes it has been served, they have learn't a very valuable lesson, and perhaps realise that " not all that glitters is gold" .

Julia said:

Makes you wonder how they succeeded in achieving the level of assets they already had that they could be so stupid.

I'll never understand that kind of pure greed.

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I was thinking the same thing - smart enough to get that far in front and then dumb enough to put it all on the line like that.

Im sure the tabloid papers just look for the dumbest people to write about.
Where is the shock value if someone who was pragmatic about gambling simply shrugged their shoulders and said **** happens?

Makes me wonder if the people mentioned in the story would have bet the worth of their assets in a casino? Me thinks not.

Hmm, if my business ever fails and I cant repay my business loan maybe I could just bleat to the media about seeking "justice" and those nasty banks.

"The gagging of Storm"

See an article by Mark Weir Co Chairman of the Storm Investors Consumer Action Group Inc (SICAG).

Mark writes;

"......on Wednesday 15 April I was contacted by that person who confirmed that ASIC had imposed a restriction on Storm prohibiting them from engaging with their clients. The reason for this prohibition was that ASIC had become aware that Storm were advising their clients NOT to pay their negative equity debt to Colonial and it was their considered opinion that this could be of further detriment to their circumstances through having interest accrue on the debt. I am compelled to say at this point that this reason is spurious if not outrageous"

The full text is currently on the home page of SICAG at; http://sicag.info

Solly said:

"The gagging of Storm"

See an article by Mark Weir Co Chairman of the Storm Investors Consumer Action Group Inc (SICAG).

Mark writes;

"......on Wednesday 15 April I was contacted by that person who confirmed that ASIC had imposed a restriction on Storm prohibiting them from engaging with their clients. The reason for this prohibition was that ASIC had become aware that Storm were advising their clients NOT to pay their negative equity debt to Colonial and it was their considered opinion that this could be of further detriment to their circumstances through having interest accrue on the debt. I am compelled to say at this point that this reason is spurious if not outrageous"

The full text is currently on the home page of SICAG at; http://sicag.info

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The SICAG site never seem to have a bad word to say about Manny Cassimatis.

Maybe they know something that the AFR, Australian and most Investment sites don't know.

gg

This link relates to the Slater and Gordon Class Action with regards to Storm Financial.

http://www.slatergordon.com.au/pages/class_actions_stormfin.aspx

I found their Briefing Note, Frequently Asked Questions & Client Questionnaire to be quite interesting and may be of benefit and interest to others.

Cereberus said:

Hi SJG1974,

A small addition to my original disclosure for clarity.

I should say I am/was close to all above mentioned parties over the past many years, but due to events in recent months I have not been in regular communication with any of the above parties for one reason or another depending on the party. Therefore, I am not a conduit to getting answers on current questions.

So to answer your second question in relation to the Cassimatis website, I do not know if or when the website will be reopened. If I had to guess, I would think that it would not be reopened anytime soon.

In relation to your very first query, my primary intent was firstly to simply warn those innocent readers and contributors of the potential dangers when accepting advice or opinions provided here as neutral and “helpful”. As we know, the internet, due to its seeming anonymity, is a haven for this sort of behaviour but it seemed exceptional when reading this thread.

As to your first query SJG1974, well my second priority was to do just as you suggest over the next few weeks. Stay tuned, I think you will be interested.

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Cereberus, it's been another week and we still haven't heard from you.
I believe that there are still many who welcome your offer to keep us informed and are eager to hear from you again.
Any updates for us?

Solly said:

"The gagging of Storm"

See an article by Mark Weir Co Chairman of the Storm Investors Consumer Action Group Inc (SICAG).

Mark writes;

"......on Wednesday 15 April I was contacted by that person who confirmed that ASIC had imposed a restriction on Storm prohibiting them from engaging with their clients. The reason for this prohibition was that ASIC had become aware that Storm were advising their clients NOT to pay their negative equity debt to Colonial and it was their considered opinion that this could be of further detriment to their circumstances through having interest accrue on the debt. I am compelled to say at this point that this reason is spurious if not outrageous"

The full text is currently on the home page of SICAG at; http://sicag.info

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And here's Kate Kachor's comment in Investor Daily;

"Storm advisers gagged over margin calls"

"Regulator enforces restriction
Storm Financial advisers were forbidden to contact their clients just weeks before the firm faltered."

http://www.investordaily.com.au/6423.htm