The Federal Court has today ordered Master Wealth Control Pty Ltd (DG Institute) to pay $5 million in pecuniary penalties for making false or misleading representations to consumers in the promotion and sale of two education programs called Real Estate Rescue (RER) and Master Wealth Control (MWC), and to pay consumer redress totalling $14.7 million to students enrolled in the MWC program.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) says the redress orders made by the Court require DG Institute refund consumers an amount equivalent to the course fees paid by more than 2100 students who enrolled in the MWC program between April 2017 and November 2022 - and DG Institute’s sole director, Dominique Grubisa, was also ordered to pay $1 million in penalties, and disqualified from managing corporations for five years, for being knowingly concerned in the contraventions by DG Institute.
“These orders underscore the importance for businesses and company directors to ensure statements made to consumers promoting their products and services are accurate and not misleading,” ACCC Commissioner Liza Carver said.
“The substantial consumer redress orders, the penalties imposed and the five year disqualification order against Ms Grubisa reflect the serious nature of the conduct, and clearly demonstrate the consequences of making false claims when promoting goods or services to consumers.”
{loadposition peter}
The ACCC said DG Institute is required to contact consumers who may be eligible for redress and to post information about the redress scheme on its website and Facebook pages.
“The Court also ordered injunctions restraining DG Institute and its officers, and Ms Grubisa, from making similar or the same representations for a period of five years. The Court also ordered DG Institute and Ms Grubisa to pay the ACCC costs of the proceedings.”
The ACCC noted that it is is carefully considering the Court’s judgment.
In its scam warning issued today the ACCC said:
“If you receive a call from anyone offering to help you with a payment or refund, hang up immediately. Never give personal information to anyone calling you out of the blue, never give access to your computer or bank account and never click on a link in a text message or open an attachment in an email if you were not expecting the text or email.
If you have given information to a scammer or lost money, contact your bank immediately. Report scams to Scamwatch