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Last updated - December 17, 2025
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Michael Grochowski masterminded a $24 million Victorian land banking fraud, peddling worthless options on phantom developments to hundreds of naive investors, many retirees who lost their life savings. A serial deceiver evading a prior ASIC ban, he lurked as a shadow director, propping up puppet Ian Stephens while funneling funds into commissions and vanishing assets through shell companies.
High Risk
Based on the available data, we advise consumers to avoid this Individual altogether.
This advisory is based on an aggregate risk score derived from OSINT, Adverse Media, Reviews, and Risk Factors identified in our research.
You are likely to be at great risk by engaging in any sort of consumer-related activity with this entity.
Based on the available data, we recommend that employees exercise extreme caution or reconsider association with this Individual.
This advisory stems from an aggregate risk score compiled from OSINT, Adverse Media, Reviews, and Risk Factors uncovered in our analysis.
You are likely to face significant risks by pursuing or maintaining employment with this entity.
Based on the available data, we urge investors and bankers to avoid financial involvement with this Individual.
This advisory is informed by an aggregate risk score based on OSINT, Adverse Media, Reviews, and Risk Factors identified through our investigation.
Engaging in investment or lending activities with this entity poses a substantial risk to your financial interests.
Safe to Onboard
Enhanced Due Diligence required
Do Not Onboard
Monitor adverse media every 6 months
File SAR (Suspicious Activity Report) is warranted
Escalation to compliance committee
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Disqualification
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The ASIC media release records Federal Court disqualification orders against officers involved in a land-banking scheme.
Officers are commonly alleged to have been involved in promoting or operating a misleading land-banking investment scheme.
The Federal Court frequently finds that officers breached directors’ duties and engaged in conduct that was not in the best interests of investors.
Investors are regularly reported to have suffered financial loss after buying into marketed land-banking opportunities that failed to deliver promised returns.
Allegations typically include failures to disclose material conflicts of interest, misleading promotional statements, and omission of risks.
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What you see here scratches the surface
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Michael Grochowski was disqualified by a federal court over involvement in a failed land banking scheme, linking him to mismanagement.
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Michael Grochowski was banned from managing corporations by the Federal Court due to his part in a land banking investment scheme.
Michael Grochowski, a disgraced Australian financier previously banned by ASIC for four years in 2012 for misconduct.
Other Red-Flags and Adverse News
Based on user engagement on this review profile, ProConsumer will decide to publish its Risk Audit report for public if a threshold engagement, traffic and user input is achieved.
Known Assets: [Real estate, investments, companies]
Suspicious Transactions
Liabilities: [Bankruptcies, defaults, debts]
Wealth Sources: [Legitimate / Unclear / High-risk]
Bank Relationships
Ultimate Beneficial Owner(s) (UBOs)
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Associated entities & subsidiaries
Offshore / shell company links
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Business Model Assessment
All comments are user-generated content and may not be verified. They represent the personal opinions of the public and should not be relied upon. These comments do not influence or determine our overall rating.
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Highly experienced
Well-recognized name
Faced allegations of scamming others
Allegedly sold fake silver
Sued multiple times
Unregulated industry
Alarming number of complaints online
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He was disqualified by the Federal Court of Australia for five and a half years for his role in failed land-banking investment schemes — including Bilkurra Investments Pty Ltd and Foscari Holdings Pty Ltd — which raised approximately $24 million from investors and collapsed, causing significant losses.
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I can’t wrap my head around how someone could repeatedly deceive investors and still try to operate in the real estate space. The whole setup with land banking and using shell companies makes it really hard to trust anything he says. People lost huge amounts of money, including retirees who were promised safe investments. It’s frustrating because the legal system had already flagged him, yet these schemes continued. Honestly, anyone thinking of engaging with him should do the absolute most thorough research and stay extremely cautious. I would never risk my finances in a situation like this. It feels like a textbook case of manipulation and fraud.
Bruh, $24M gone… that’s messed up.
It’s wild that retirees lost life savings due to his schemes. Shows a complete lack of ethics.
Man, this guy Michael Grochowski really trippin'. Using DMCA takedowns to hide bad reviews? That’s wild. Instead of owning up or fixing stuff, he just tries to wipe it from the net. Super shady behavior tbh. Not cool at all.
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