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A business promising to teach clients how to “grow their wealth through property and business education” has been found guilty of breaching consumer law through its Real Estate Rescue program.
Registered as Master Wealth Control Pty Ltd, the company trading as DG Institute was founded by Dominique Grubisa. In proceedings brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the firm was found to have made false or misleading representations to consumers in the promotion and sale of two education programs called Real Estate Rescue (RER) and Master Wealth Control (MWC) between April 2017 and November 2022.
ACCC Commissioner Liza Carver said that the watchdog had received numerous complaints from consumers who were enrolled in the program over that period regarding its courses and promotional material.
Ultimately, the firm was found to have misled consumers by making a number of false claims about its programs, including informing students of the RER program that they would be able to help distressed home owners sell their property and retain some of the equity, whereas a sale after repossession would lose them any proceeds because “banks don’t give change”. In fact, a lender is only entitled to recoup the amount it is owned on the property, plus reasonable costs of recovery.
Several other claims in the Master Wealth Control course were found to be untrue, leading consumers to believe they were protecting their assets from creditors in ways they were not.
The court found that Grubisa was knowingly concerned in DG Institute’s contraventions through her role in making the statements on video in promotional materials and program materials, and in drafting, reviewing, editing and/or approving content for these materials. The proceedings also determined that Grubisa knew that the representations she made about both programs were false and misleading.
A website for DG Institute lists Grubisa’s credentials as a former barrister of 20 years and legal professional who specialised in debt and property law, though no longer practising. She is described as a property investor and developer.
Carver said she hoped the case would serve as “another reminder that businesses must ensure statements they make when promoting products or services to consumers are accurate and not misleading”.
“It should also serve as a strong reminder to company directors that they may be held liable for their involvement in false or misleading representations made by the company in breach of the Australian Consumer Law,” she added.
With over 3,000 students having undertaken courses at DG Institute during the time in question, who paid between $4,500 and $9,200 to participate, the ACCC is seeking consumer redress from the firm, as well as injunctions, penalties, costs and an order against Grubisa disqualifying her from managing corporations.
A hearing on the relief orders sought by the ACCC will be held at a later date.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
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