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Brent Young, alleged to have acted as a shadow director while bankrupt, has been charged over a multimillion-dollar debt factoring fraud involving falsified invoices purportedly issued to Bunnings Warehouse.
He appeared before the Brisbane Magistrates Court on 21 November to face charges brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
Charged with one count of fraud under section 408C of the Queensland Criminal Code and one count of managing a corporation, Young faces disqualification under section 206A of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).
ASIC alleges that between 30 September 2020 and 30 June 2023, he acted as a shadow director of HWT Group Australia Pty Ltd and orchestrated the submission of over 10,000 fraudulent invoices to a Queensland-based finance provider.
These invoices were used to obtain more than $8.3 million in advance payments through a debt factoring arrangement.
Debt factoring is a financial arrangement where businesses sell their accounts receivable to third-party financiers at a discount, receiving immediate cash instead of waiting for payment from customers.
According to ASIC, the fraudulent invoices were issued to Bunnings Warehouse, supposedly for goods delivered to multiple store locations. However, investigations revealed neither Young nor HWT Group had any legitimate business dealings with Bunnings concerning those goods.
At the time, Young was an undischarged bankrupt and therefore automatically disqualified from managing corporations.
He has been formally charged with one count of fraud under section 408C of the Queensland Criminal Code 1899, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years' imprisonment, and one count of breaching section 206A of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), relating to managing a corporation while disqualified, which can result in up to 5 years' imprisonment.
The matter has been adjourned for mention to 19 December 2025 and is being prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP).
