Former property developer Michael David Steele has been jailed for eight years for defrauding investors who put more than $1.3 million into a Gold Coast property venture.
Steele was sentenced in the Southport District Court on 7 August 2025, after pleading guilty on 10 April 2025 to three counts of fraud contrary to section 408C(1)(a)(i), (2)(d) and one count of fraud contrary to section 408C(1)(a)(i), (2A) of the Criminal Code (Qld). He received eight years for one count and four years for each of the remaining three counts, to be served concurrently. He will be eligible for parole after serving 20 months.
The court heard that between May 2016 and February 2017, Steele persuaded 14 investors to withdraw more than $1.3 million from their superannuation and savings to lend to EA Invest Pty Ltd and Marketing Machine International Pty Ltd for a commercial and residential development at Biggera Waters. Steele had responsibility for raising finance to enable the companies to complete the project.
Instead, the money was used to purchase a house in his wife’s name, pay his son’s university fees, buy cars and jewellery, and fund international travel, entertainment and online gambling. None of the investors’ funds were repaid.
ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court said, ‘the sentence imposed by the Court demonstrates the seriousness of Mr Steele’s misconduct. When individuals misappropriate funds for personal gain, they not only harm their investors but also undermine the integrity of the financial system, diminishing public trust in investment opportunities.’
In sentencing, Judge Prskalo KC said, ‘At all times, you were the controlling mind of the scheme.’ ‘Investors generally expressed their trust in you and as a result did not seek legal advice’ and ‘the gravamen of your offending is of course the use of money dishonestly for personal expenses when that money had been given to you to invest in a development project.’ ‘No sentence I impose can undo the harm caused to investors who have lost their money’.
As a result of the conviction, Steele is automatically disqualified from managing corporations until five years after his term of imprisonment is completed. The matter was prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions following a referral from ASIC.
ASIC’s investigation drew on supplementary reports lodged by the liquidators of Eastco Developments Pty Ltd and EA Invest, David Hambleton of Rodgers Reidy and Glenn O’Kearney of GT Advisory and Consulting, respectively. ASIC assisted both liquidators by providing funding from the Assetless Administration Fund. Before commencing a criminal investigation, ASIC had already disqualified Steele from managing corporations for the maximum period of five years in 2020.
At the time of the offending, the maximum penalties under section 408C(1)(a)(i) of the Criminal Code (Qld) were: prior to 9 December 2016, 12 years’ imprisonment for amounts of at least $30,000 but less than $100,000, and 14 years for more than $100,000; after 9 December 2016, 20 years for more than $100,000.
