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Replies to post #129249 on Tautachrome Inc (TTCM)
08/02/20 12:14 PM
AS AUTHORITIES pursued him for scamming investors over his fake magnetic engine, playboy and wannabe film director Micheal Peter Nugent was using his growing notoriety to thumb his nose at them, starting another ill-fated business - Conman Clothes Company.
The venture, which included his wife Tammy, was selling T-shirts and skateboards and they cheekily promoted it on a black Chrysler boasting the number plates: CONMAN.
"CONMAN" ... Michael Nugent's cheeky number plate.
But the business only lasted as long as the Australian Securities and Investments Commission case against Mr Nugent, closing within months of the Queensland Court of Appeal confirming he was guilty of misleading and deceptive conduct over the Cycclone Magnetic Engine. The court ruled that his ''fuel-free'' engine - propelled by magnets - did not and could not work.
But it appears the court action didn't deter him. Conman Clothes was just one more business linked to the 48-year-old former Adelaide diesel fitter and mechanic which has been either shut down or put into liquidation owing creditors millions.
At the Playboy mansion.
Since The Sun-Herald's expose´ last week on how Mr Nugent has been living the high life on investors' money - attending pyjama parties at Hugh Hefner's Playboy mansion and travelling extensively around the world without producing anything that works - more investors are claiming they have been duped. They are calling for ASIC and police to conduct thorough investigations into Mr Nugent's extensive business dealings.
Inquiries by The Sun-Herald have now revealed Mr Nugent was a bankrupt in South Australia in the 1980s. His co-director in the engine scam, Steven Vincent Foster, was also a bankrupt until 2007, during the time he was selling shares in the venture.
A closer look at Mr Nugent's company history shows some interesting patterns, particularly with Cycclone Magnetic Engines Pty Ltd. The company, which began in 2002, had three name changes in two years and ended up as Roadships Logistics Ltd, which was liquidated in 2009 owing $1.4 million to unsecured creditors and deregistered.
Another company associated with Mr Nugent, Endeavour Logistics Pty Ltd, met a similar fate, changing its name before being liquidated last year owing unsecured creditors $510,907.40. It had unsecured assets of just $33,168. The liquidator attributed its failure to ''poor strategic management of business'' and ''dispute among directors''.
A creditor who tried to take legal action believes Endeavour was trading while insolvent. Yet ASIC company records show that, somehow, the same liquidated company has been revived as Roadships Freight Pty Ltd. Another company, known as Roadships Limited, which began in 1999, was liquidated and deregistered in 2004. Mr Nugent's bad record stretches back to Adelaide when, after his bankruptcy, his South Australia Redback Trucks Pty Ltd and Max Marmon Pty Ltd were deregistered.
One rusted-on backer of Mr Nugent contacted The Sun-Herald and suggested we had got it all wrong and should look at Roadships Acquisitions Australia Ltd and Roadships Holdings Inc, as investors would reap strong growth with the imminent arrival of ships crucial to its integrated road and sea transport plan. A few checks by The Sun-Herald on the ''partners'' in these projects revealed a different story. Neils Anderson, a Denmark-based shipping broker with Navitaship, appointed to Roadships by Mr Nugent, said no ships had been leased or bought. Dave McMillan, the head of STX Marine, the Vancouver-based company supposedly designing the high-speed ships, said he had not heard from Mr Nugent for three or four years. Another maritime adviser, Mark Yonge, said he was no longer involved.
And a deal to buy the US company Reefco Logistics for $450,000 by March 31 does not appear to have been finalised. The owner of Reefco, Ernie Beaureguard, said he could not comment on whether the deal had been finalised because of ''sensitivities''. Since Roadships Holdings began in 2008, it has made a $2.3 million loss with $2.2 million spent on administration expenses. The company is listed on the Over the Counter Bulletin Board in the US. But the board is considered a listing place of last resort, given it is illiquid and susceptible to market manipulation, and has low levels of supervision and few trades.
Because Roadships has failed to file its quarterly report on time, the public has received a warning about the company. Companies that do not file have an E attached to their ticker code to warn traders. The code for the company is now RDSHE.
Curiously, an investor decided on Wednesday to pay $1.01 for 1584 shares which were only worth 23 cents, and on Thursday an investor paid 75 cents for 600 shares.
Mr Nugent did not respond to questions from The Sun-Herald.
But he has been spotted driving around in his black Chrysler - now without the CONMAN plates.
n.obrien@fairfaxmedia.com.au
The Novagen Y Engine (patent pending) under development is a new design engine configuration that utilizes opposing pistons and three angled cylinders with 180º crank journals. On October 14, 2012, the Company filed for patent protection of the Novagen Y-Engine with the United States Patent and Trade Mark Office. On November 2, 2012, the Company filed an updated patent application and is currently preparing the utility patent application.
A former diesel fitter turned conman who was prosecuted for spruiking a fake magnetic engine has now been made bankrupt for the second time in his long and chequered career.
Micheal (or Michael) Peter Nugent, was forced into bankruptcy last week by the corporate regulator ASIC after failing to pay almost $300,000 in legal costs stemming from a case against him and his company Cycclone Magnetic Engines Inc in 2009.
Party time: Micheal Nugent (centre) with Robert McClelland (left), Steven Foster and models at the Playboy mansion.
Party time: Micheal Nugent (centre) with Robert McClelland (left), Steven Foster and models at the Playboy mansion.CREDIT:NATALIE O'BRIEN
Cycclone and Mr Nugent, who was chairman, were found to have engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct regarding the engine the court ruled ''could not work''.
Three years after The Sun-Herald reported on how Mr Nugent had been living the high-life on shareholder funds, attending pyjama parties at Hugh Hefner's Playboy mansion and travelling extensively around the world, the Gold Coast man is now banned from managing companies or holding directorships in Australia.
Angry investors who claim they had been duped over the fake engine had been pushing for more action after Mr Nugent was again found to be fund-raising on the back of audacious claims about another invention known as the Y Engine.
A creditors' petition was filed in February against Mr Nugent and last week the Federal Court in Brisbane ordered he be made bankrupt after he failed to pay the ASIC bill of $295,000 from the 2009 legal action.
Mr Nugent told Fairfax Media on Friday he had repaid the money and would be seeking to have his bankruptcy set aside. Mr Nugent said the ''aggravation between the Brisbane office of the ASIC and myself''' goes back 13 years.
ASIC has twice taken civil action against Mr Nugent, first in 2001 and then in 2009 for misleading and deceptive conduct. ASIC also took action against his business associates Steven Vincent Foster and Robert (Bob) McClelland for breaching the corporations act.
Until last week, Mr Nugent was a director of 10 companies ranging from business consultancies to motor engine companies. The Official Trustee from the Australian Financial Security Authority has been appointed trustee.
In 2011, Mr Nugent had boasted about exploits such as getting clearance from NASA to talk to its top scientists about his magnetic engine.
He also fancied himself as a film director and set up Fire from Ice Films Inc, claiming top actors - whom he had met at Hefner's mansion - wanted to appear in a film about him. Inquiries revealed that Mr Nugent was a bankrupt in South Australia in the 1980s.
His co-director in the engine scam, Mr Foster, was also a bankrupt until 2007, during the time he was selling shares in the magnetic engine venture.
It was also revealed in late 2012 that Mr McClelland had been promoting the Y Engine in the hope of raising $2million.
ASIC issued warnings to the public about Mr McClelland making false and misleading statements about the companies Roadships and Cycclone Magnetic Engines by claiming they had developed revolutionary technology.
In the latest twist, a five-page newsletter being circulated by Mr McClelland and Mr Foster in Australia claimed they are still in business, Mr Nugent has invented yet another engine and despite being ''slandered and demoralised'' the engine company is something to be proud of.
''One thing for sure, we are not giving up and we are just getting started,'' they wrote.
