Australian Securities & Investments Commission referral results in eight-year prison sentence for Gold Coast developer over superannuation investment fraud

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission announced that former Gold Coast property developer Michael David Steele was sentenced in the Southport District Court on 7 August 2025 to eight years’ imprisonment for fraudulently misusing investor funds raised for a Biggera Waters commercial and residential development. The court imposed an eight-year term for one fraud count and four-year terms for three further fraud counts, to be served concurrently, with parole eligibility after 20 months. Between May 2016 and February 2017, Steele persuaded 14 investors to withdraw more than AUD 1.3 million from their superannuation and other savings to lend to EA Invest Pty Ltd and Marketing Machine International Pty Ltd, but instead spent the money on personal and family expenses including a house purchased in his wife’s name, university fees, cars, jewellery, travel, entertainment and online gambling. None of the investment monies were repaid, and the conviction automatically disqualifies him from managing corporations until five years after his term of imprisonment is completed. The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions prosecuted the matter following a referral from ASIC, which relied on supplementary reports from liquidators and provided funding via the Assetless Administration Fund.