The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) reported court findings that former Youpla Group chief executive Bryn Jones and director Ronald Pattenden breached their duties as directors of group companies. Pattenden was ordered to pay AUD 250,000 in penalties and disqualified from managing corporations for 15 years. Penalties for Jones will be determined at a separate hearing. ASIC began proceedings in August 2023 over insurance arrangements maintained between September 2017 and November 2018 with Crown Insurance Services Limited, a Vanuatu company beneficially owned and controlled by Pattenden and fellow director Jonathan Law. ASIC alleged the arrangements were not in the Youpla entities’ interests, stood to benefit Pattenden and Law, and exposed the entities to unaffordable premium increases. First Nations customers continued paying premiums without knowing the risks to the funds’ viability and ability to meet obligations to members. The Youpla entities, which provided funeral insurance mainly marketed to Indigenous Australians, entered liquidation in March 2022. The finding against Jones followed a contested liability hearing in February 2026. His penalty hearing has yet to be scheduled, while decisions concerning Law and two other former directors, Michael Wilson and Geoffrey Clayton, remain reserved.
ASIC reports AUD 250,000 penalty and 15 year corporate management ban for former Youpla director Ronald Pattenden
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission reported that former Youpla Group directors Bryn Jones and Ronald Pattenden were found to have breached their directors’ duties. Pattenden was ordered to pay AUD 250,000 and barred from managing corporations for 15 years. Jones’ penalties remain to be determined, and decisions concerning three other former directors are reserved.