A financial adviser who took on mining magnate Gina Rinehart by campaigning for a crowd-funded bid for the buyout of Kidman Station has run foul of the corporate watchdog for alleged misrepresentations.
Interprac-registered financial adviser Steve Burgin, who worked with fractional property investment group DomaCom, has been made to take down his personal website following concerns by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
Mr Burgin's website made claims that participants in the crowdfunding campaign for Kidman Station being run by DomaCom would be entitled to the benefits of direct land ownership by owning a certain number of acres of the station.
Actually, the investors would own units in a fund that owned the station, which is not the same as directly owning the land.
Mr Burgin also made statements that he was a "Senior ASIC Licensed Adviser" and an "ASIC Licensed Fractional Property Consultant".
However, ASIC said neither of these approvals is available or possible as ASIC does not license individual advisers.
Instead, advisers are authorised under a licensee who is registered with ASIC.
ASIC took no formal action against Mr Burgin apart from requesting the site be taken down.
Interprac's national compliance manager Michael Butler told Fairfax Media the issue with Mr Burgin's website had been fixed in November.
According to DomaCom's website Mr Burgin started work in financial planning in 1986 after working in real estate in Brighton.
The description also lauds Mr Burgin's career as a former commando in the Australian Special Forces.
"There was no client facing breach [of the Corporations Act]," Mr Butler said.
Mr Butler confirmed Mr Burgin was still an authorised representative of Interprac. ASIC made no findings of inappropriate activity by Interprac.
DomaCom chief executive Arthur Naoumidis said the company was still affiliated with Mr Burgin.
"His use of English to explain the crowdfunding campaign was a little poor. He said that if you invest you acquire a few acres of Kidman," Mr Naoumidis said.
He said that it was "embarrassing wording" but Mr Burgin was a good adviser and it should have been picked up by Mr Burgin's compliance programs.
Fairfax Media was unable to reach Mr Burgin through his now defunct website. A message was left for him with Mr Butler.
A consortium made up of Mrs Rinehart's private companies and Chinese joint venture partner Shanghai CRED snapped up the station as part of its acquisition of cattle company S.Kidman & Co last year for $386.5 million.
Part of DomaCom's pitch to investors was for an all-Australian buyout of Kidman. The campaign was ultimately trumped by Mrs Rinehart's consortium.