The boss of a failed billion-dollar AI start-up is facing six charges in a Sydney court after he used company cash to fuel an $18 million luxury property buying spree in the months before it collapsed.
Former Metigy chief executive David Fairfull leaves the Federal Court building in Sydney in August after previous examinations.The charges, referred by company regulator ASIC, follow a series of stories in this masthead revealing allegations from Metigy’s liquidators that the company traded while insolvent after FairfullThe loan went towards his purchase of a $10.5 million trophy home in Mosman and a $7.
Metigy had promised to help small businesses improve their social media presence through artificial intelligence, but the plan came unstuck after a whistleblower relayed their concerns about the company’s claims and financial position to an investor. He repaid a portion of the loan before Metigy went under and has said he believed the loan would be only a short-term arrangement. ASIC referred questions about the exact nature of Fairfull’s alleged wrongdoing to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, which did not respond to a request for comment.David Fairfull and his wife purchased a $7.7 million property near Kangaroo Valley, south of Sydney.