Developer jailed 8 years for spending $1.3m of investors' super on personal costs
EA Invest Pty Ltd / Marketing Machine International Pty Ltd (Michael Steele) · Property development funded by superannuation investors
The case in brief
Visible before detection
Checks that could have surfaced it, on hindsight
End-use tracing of funds
Tracing the $1.3 million would show it leaving the project accounts for personal spending.
Can mislead when: Kubr sees only the company's own accounts. Once money reaches a third party's bank, Kubr can flag the payee but cannot see the next hop without that party's consent.
Ownership / related-party links
A closer look at who gave instructions would show Steele as the controlling mind behind the companies.
Can mislead when: Nominee directors and offshore layers hide links. Name matching throws up false positives, so every flag shows its evidence path.
Bank credits vs books
Bank statements would show withdrawals with no matching development costs.
Can mislead when: AA only sees the accounts the company links, so an undisclosed account stays invisible. Cash-heavy businesses and timing differences create false flags.
Regulatory & litigation records
Court and ASIC records could be searched for the individuals behind the companies.
Can mislead when: Court records lag and name spellings vary. A clean record can mean the problem has not reached court yet.
Where Kubr services would have helped
Borrower monitor
Offered in India- C1 Bank statements would show withdrawals with no matching development costs.
- C3 A closer look at who gave instructions would show Steele as the controlling mind behind the companies.
- C6 Tracing the $1.3 million would show it leaving the project accounts for personal spending.
- C8 Court and ASIC records could be searched for the individuals behind the companies.
Portfolio monitor
Offered in India- C1 Bank statements would show withdrawals with no matching development costs.
- C3 A closer look at who gave instructions would show Steele as the controlling mind behind the companies.
- C8 Court and ASIC records could be searched for the individuals behind the companies.
Proceeds tracer
Offered in India- C1 Bank statements would show withdrawals with no matching development costs.
- C3 A closer look at who gave instructions would show Steele as the controlling mind behind the companies.
- C6 Tracing the $1.3 million would show it leaving the project accounts for personal spending.
Verified Snapshot
Offered in India- C3 A closer look at who gave instructions would show Steele as the controlling mind behind the companies.
- C8 Court and ASIC records could be searched for the individuals behind the companies.
Mapped from the checks each service runs. A hindsight reading of public records, not a promise that the failure would have been found.
Same pattern
A summary of public documents. It reports what the sources say. It is not Kubr's finding and not a statement of guilt.