A failed Gold Coast hedge fund director gifted his son luxury cars and a Rolex watch before the alleged Ponzi scheme collapsed owing $25 million.
The Goldsky Global Access Fund was forced into liquidation in 2018 amid allegations sole director Ken Grace was using investors' funds for himself.
Former Olympic swimmer Sam Riley and Olympic cyclist Robbie McEwen are among a long list of investors owed money by the former car dealer, who enjoyed a lavish lifestyle before the fund went bust.
This included renting a luxury Sydney Harbour home with its own skippered motorboat "so he could clear his head" in the months before the collapse.
He also lavished his unemployed son, Austen Grace, with a Rolex watch and European cars, the Federal Court in Brisbane heard on Friday.
"It's been taken by (the Australian Security and Investments Commission) ... gifted back," Austen Grace told an examination hearing into the failed fund about the Rolex.
Asked if he'd received any other gifts, Mr Grace answered: "A BMW."
"That was sold, I believe, and then I got a Mercedes-Benz and that was gifted back," he said.
The court heard Mr Grace, now 23, previously worked for his father at Goldsky for about four years as a graphic designer but never lodged a tax return.
His role included laying out investor documents, such as Goldsky's 46-page product disclosure document, which he claimed he had created from scratch.
But the liquidator's lawyer, Liam Copley, said that wasn't the case, suggesting the document was actually a Macquarie bank document that Austen Grace had copied and pasted.
He pointed to pages in the Goldsky document where Macquarie's name still appeared, saying "it looks like you may have forgotten to change the name on some occasions".
"I'm not quite sure. I'm very hazy. I had a quite serious drug addiction back then," Mr Grace responded.
He eventually agreed he had downloaded the document but said his father Ken Grace would have been behind the name changes.
"I just followed instructions and didn't ask any questions," he said.
Earlier, Ken Grace's 83-year-old mother Faye Grace said she was shocked by the media stories about her son.
"It's been a terrible shock," she said
"The man I know and the man you're presenting here are entirely different.
"He has been a very good son and very caring, and it's very difficult to comprehend it."
The examination continues.
Australian Associated Press
