As many as 2,000 people lined up to give this man their money — and then they learned his true identity.
David Sevelle has been promoting an "ethical" internet scheme called the Lightweb , which is yet to launch.An Australian using a false name has founded an "ethical" alternative internet scheme, which has roped in thousands of people.
Many customers are now pulling out of the ambitious scheme after learning the man behind it has not been using his legal name, and that he has previously been sanctioned by the corporate regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission . They have been pre-purchasing advertising slots, called broadcast certificates, for when the platform goes live.
"I have never hidden behind this name and still operate my own company and register domain names and trademarks and IP under my name," he said. Mr Sevelle told the ABC, "We never promise a fixed rate of return", and said this document was not "authorised marketing content". Mr Sevelle said there had been multiple delays due to "outside influences" such as "limited early development funding", the COVID-19 pandemic, and the cost-of-living crisis.SuppliedHe said he expected the platform to launch within 90 days after dealing with a "trademark challenge".
An internal report from 2023 showed Mr Sevelle was not the director of the Lightweb business but appeared to have been making a sizeable amount of money. But ASIC froze the Mega Money companies by court order, and eventually they were all forced into liquidation. "The accounts were replete with inconsistent treatment of recurring transactions, unexplained transactions, and fundamental balancing errors," the liquidator added.
He claimed ASIC found a "glitch" in the way he ran his property companies where he was treating all his businesses as one, which meant he was over the limit of investment funds and was running an unregistered managed scheme. Customers were asked to provide 400 points of ID, including marriage certificates, high school certificates and boat licences.Despite the explanations, a 2023 company document showed 90 people demanded refunds from the Lightweb scheme.
"Our client has since been advised that you will now be paying the remainder of the refund by way of $10,000 payments over 10 months. The ABC has spoken to multiple people, who did not want to be identified, who said the company's most recent sales rhetoric involved encouraging investors to mortgage their homes to obtain more money.
When he tried to put in more money through his superannuation, he said his accountant would not authorise it.Mr Urquhart has since gotten his money back and reported the company to ASIC.
ASIC David Sevelle Mum And Dad Investors Ethical Internet Tech Platform Lightweb Dark Web David Stryker Super Switching
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