Misleading or deceptive conduct and dishonest conduct
36 ASIC alleged that representations made on the websites and by Titantrade representatives ("brokers") to website customers were not true, namely that:
(a) binary options trading will generate large profits and returns ("the first representation");
(b) larger deposits would generate greater returns ("the second representation");
(c) certain trades are "insured" or "guaranteed" so that the customer cannot lose those trades ("the third representation");
(d) the broker appointed to the customer is licensed and has expertise in trading and binary options ("the fourth representation");
(e) the broker appointed to the customer will act in the customer's best interests to maximise their returns ("the fifth representation"); and
(f) profits and returns generated by trading in binary options can be withdrawn by the customer on request ("the sixth representation").
37 The first representation is found in webcapture shots of the websites annexed to the affidavit of Mr Standfield dated 22 December 2017 and the investor affidavits. Examples of the first representation in the webcapture shots are:
OUR TRADER'S TOTAL PROFIT Since April 1st, 2016 $15,452,218
If you're looking for a way to increase your profits, Titantrade is the place to do so…
Make a deposit via one of the many options we offer, begin trading using our quick and easy platform, where you can select a multitude of assets, contract lengths and investment. Using all of those to turn a quick profit until it's time to make a safe and secure withdrawal of your funds….
With relative ease and no financial degree required, anyone can make a profit.
… profits will materialize in your account in no time.
… Titan Trade provides you with all the tools you need to become a lucrative investor.
38 Further, it was Mr Wyatt's evidence that when he looked at the website he noticed it offered 75% returns on trading and promised a return on every trade. Ms Graham similarly gave evidence she saw that the website said it offered high returns on investments.
39 The first representation was also made to investors directly. Mr Wyatt gave evidence that in a skype message to him from a broker, David Garcia, Mr Garcia wrote that:
I understand that you have some concerns after losing the trades but I will tell you this Ken, I am going to [do] eveything [sic] in my power to get you 250K+ in the next few weeks.
40 Mr Bowyer gave evidence that he was told by David Garcia that Titantrade could provide him with an income which would enable him to pay off his mortgage in two years.
41 The second representation was contained in a table on a webcapture shot showing the different account types on offer through Titantrade with the benefits of each account type. The most expensive of these accounts was the platinum account of US$50,000 or more which was said to offer "higher payouts", as compared to the other account types. Mr Wyatt also gave evidence that Mr Garcia told him that the more capital that Mr Garcia had to work with, "the safer and better [he] will be able to perform" for Mr Wyatt and if Mr Wyatt was able to organise "closer to $100,000 tomorrow" he would "take care of a big bonus" to Mr Wyatt's account. Mr Bowyer gave evidence that Mr Garcia told him that he needed a reasonable amount of funds deposited with the website in order to trade successfully. Ms Graham gave evidence that another broker, Kevin Lambert, recommended to her that she should move her superannuation into the Titantrade account to "make some real money".
42 The third representation was made to Mr Tottman, Mr Wyatt, Mr Bowyer and Ms Graham:
(a) Mr Tottman's evidence was that a broker called Andrew Lee from Titantrade assured him in a Skype conversation that his trades were "insured" and he should "trade carefully with insurance and start winning money". In another Skype conversation with that broker, he was told "Great News. Insurance bonus funds are in!". Mr Tottman's evidence was that he told Mr Lee that he only wanted to use the "insured" portion of his deposit funds and he did not want to touch the other A$7,000 of his funds to which Mr Lee responded "I know that is the contract!";
(b) Mr Wyatt gave evidence to like effect. He gave evidence of an email he received from Titantrade marketing which stated:
Dear Ken,
an 100% protected capital is coming YOUR way!
…
Trade on Walt Disney within the next 24 hours and get a 100% protected capital on your trade!
(c) Mr Bowyer's evidence was that he received an email from Titantrade which stated that:
In order to help get you started the first 5 trades you open with your account manager will be insured (each trade cannot exceed 20% of your current account balance).
You win, you keep the winnings. You lose, we'll take the losses. That's it, no hidden strings, no catch.
(d) Ms Graham gave evidence that she was told by the broker Mr Lambert that her trades were protected and her capital would be safe.
43 The fourth representation is found in the following material on the websites: under the heading "Why Titantrade", it was stated "We've got professional brokers to aid you along every step of the way" and, further on, there is a reference to "dedicated customer support staff" and that "when you trade with us, you have ample resources and an expert support staff at your fingertips".
44 The fourth representation was made to investors directly:
(a) Mr Wyatt's evidence was that Mr Garcia told him that he was licensed to trade in options in the UK;
(b) Mr Bowyer's evidence was that Mr Garcia told him that his advice to Mr Bowyer as Mr Bowyer's broker was based on continuous analysis done by a team of specialised analysts to predict movements in currency and commodities;
(c) Ms Graham's evidence was that she received an email from a Hary Spencer of Titantrade which stated:
We are happy that you chose us as your binary option trader.
I am happy to let you know that here at TITANTRADE you do not have to trade alone. We try our best to provide the best support and professionalism to suit your high standards and needs.
…
Our educational department and our personal junior and senior brokers are here to assist you every step of the way;
(d) Ms Malland and Mr Wyatt received emails in similar terms from an "Amanda" and a Sam Rifken, respectively.
(e) Ms Malland also gave evidence that a Dr Schulte represented to her that he held a "FTSE License", and provided a licence number to support this claim.
45 The fifth representation is found in the following statements on the websites:
We've got professional brokers to aid you along every step of the way.
… we will take care of your money by using the top safety measures available, verify your investments in a timely fashion, and strive to be quick with any requests you may have, all the while doing our best to insure [sic] your complete satisfaction with the entire process.
46 Additionally, Ms Malland, Mr Wyatt and Ms Graham each gave evidence that on opening an account they received an email which stated:
Our educational department and our personal junior and senior brokers are here to assist you in every step of the way.
47 Mr Tottman also gave evidence that a broker, Mr Lee, stated in a Skype message:
Lets [sic] maximize on the profits available before you make any decisions… You have an account that will generate you amounts of money which will assist you with your struggles. Let me keep working with you and assist.
48 The sixth representation was contained in the following material on the websites:
(a) the passage that said "Using all of those to turn a quick profit until it's time to make a safe and secure withdrawal of your funds";
(b) the statement that "With our fast withdrawal process you can be sure that you will always have your funds in reach";
(c) in the frequent questions and answers section there was a question "How often can I withdraw my funds?" to which the response was "You can withdraw your funds as often as you like";
(d) the "withdrawal and compliance policy" on the websites relevantly stated:
In order to expedite the withdrawal process we asked that within 48 hours of funding your account you send us your compliance documents by email to Compliance@titantrade.email...
…
This is a onetime process. Once your documents have been approved you will receive a confirmation email validating your account for withdrawals….
…
Wire Transfers:
All funds deposited with a wire transfer will be withdrawn via a wire transfer. Once a withdrawal has been processed it does take up to five business days for the funds to show in your bank account. If you have a VIP account that allows 24 hour wire transfers please inform us of this at the time you sent your withdrawal request.
…
The first wire withdrawal of every month is free of charge, however any subsequent wire withdrawals for that month are 30 USD, GPB, EUR, CAD or AUD.
…
Withdrawal procedure takes up to seven business days once Client's documentation submitted and approved. The Company may cancel the Client's withdrawal order, if, according to the Company's discretion, the remaining funds (after the withdrawal) shall not be sufficient to secure open Position(s) in the Trading Account.
49 ASIC has alleged that the making of the representations constituted misleading or deceptive conduct contrary to s 1041H of the Corporations Act. ASIC has also alleged that One Tech knew the representations to be false in material particulars or to be materially misleading contrary to s 1041E, and that by making the statements knowing them to be false, One Tech also engaged in dishonest conduct in the course of carrying on a financial services business contrary to s 1041G.
50 Section 1041H(1) provides:
A person must not, in this jurisdiction, engage in conduct, in relation to a financial product or a financial service that is misleading or deceptive or is likely to mislead or deceive.
51 Section 1041E(1) provides:
A person must not (whether in this jurisdiction or elsewhere) make a statement, or disseminate information, if:
(a) the statement or information is false in a material particular or is materially misleading; and
(b) the statement or information is likely:
(i) to induce persons in this jurisdiction to apply for financial products; or
(ii) to induce persons in this jurisdiction to dispose of or acquire financial products; or
(iii) to have the effect of increasing, reducing, maintaining or stabilising the price for trading in financial products on a financial market operated in this jurisdiction; and
(c) when the person makes the statement, or disseminates the information:
(i) the person does not care whether the statement or information is true or false; or
(ii) the person knows, or ought reasonably to have known, that the statement or information is false in a material particular or is materially misleading.
52 Section 1041G (as it was during the relevant period) provided:
(1) A person must not, in the course of carrying on a financial services business in this jurisdiction, engage in dishonest conduct in relation to a financial product or financial service.
(2) In this section:
dishonest means:
(a) dishonest according to the standards of ordinary people; and
(b) known by the person to be dishonest according to the standards of ordinary people.
53 ASIC accepted that in assessing whether the various representations were misleading or deceptive, it is to be borne in mind that trading in binary options was obviously risky and this should have been clear to investors. However, it was submitted, the representations that profits would be made were coupled with offers of expert advice from the brokers about what trades to place, and the investors could be excused for believing that the advice would be expert and would assist them to generate profits from the trades. It was submitted that it was "abundantly clear" in fact that the brokers' advice about what trades to execute was part of the deception to induce investors to invest more and more in trading in binary options until they had too much at risk to stop trading. It was submitted that the pattern of conduct which emerges from the evidence of the five investors shows there was a deliberate plan by One Tech to entice investors with early wins, and then trap them with losses and unachievable trading targets for withdrawals so that they would risk more and more money and eventually lose all of their investments.
54 It is necessary to set out the evidence of the investors in more detail.
55 Mr Wyatt's evidence was that he made an initial trade of US$25 in January 2016 which he won and which sparked his interest in trading. Shortly afterwards he was contacted by David Garcia who told him he would teach him how to do binary options trading. Mr Wyatt set up an account through the website into which he transferred A$50,000. He began to place binary option trades on the website. Each time he wanted to place a trade, Mr Garcia called him on the telephone or on a Skype voice call and guided him in the trades. His evidence was that Mr Garcia told him which trades to place and for how much. At first he was ahead trading under Mr Garcia's instruction. Mr Garcia encouraged him to provide more capital out of which to place trades. In February 2016, Mr Garcia sent Mr Wyatt a series of Skype messages saying:
Ken, I want to get your account to $1M by the end of the year
I am very confident I can do this for you
My job is to put money in your pocket and a smile on your face
The more capital I will have to work with the safer and better I will be able to perform for you
I had client [sic] who made 6 figures PROFIT last Friday
Hopefully in a few weeks from now you will get on this list as well
If you will be able to organize closer to $100.000 [sic] tomorrow I will take care of a big bonus to your account
That will allow us to work with a better money management and risk control
56 At around that time, Mr Garcia asked him if he owned his house and told him that he should take out a second mortgage on his house and use the money to make even larger deposits to the website. Mr Wyatt did not take out the second mortgage. He also received an email from Titantrade marketing offering him additional bonuses if he made further deposits.
57 In about late February 2016, Mr Wyatt asked Mr Garcia if he could make withdrawals from his online trading account. At that point his online account balance was US$104,000. Mr Garcia told him he was not eligible to make withdrawals and referred him to the written terms and conditions on the website. Mr Wyatt's evidence was that after Mr Garcia refused his request to withdraw his funds "things went downhill fast". Mr Garcia told him to place more trades so he could build up his account up to a level where he could make a withdrawal. He directed him and the trades to place and within a short period of time he had lost about US$100,000. Mr Garcia promised him he would help him to recover his account. It was in that context that Mr Wyatt received the Skype message telling him Mr Garcia was going to do everything in his power to get Mr Wyatt to US$250,000 in the next few weeks. Not long after, Mr Wyatt reiterated to Mr Garcia that he wanted to withdraw his funds but Mr Garcia's response was to encourage him to continue trading with promises that he would recover his account. Mr Wyatt stopped making deposits and stopped trading. He lost all the money he had deposited, a total of US$98,606.
58 Mr Bowyer gave evidence that shortly after he made an initial trade in early January 2016, he was called by Mr Garcia who told him that he had been allocated as Mr Bowyer's account manager, and that he was trading on behalf of lots of investors and would help Mr Bowyer to trade too. Mr Garcia also told him it would be more effective to increase the funds he deposited as he would then be eligible for better advice. Mr Garcia told him that his advice to Mr Bowyer as his broker was based on continuous analysis done by a team of specialised analysts to predict movements in currency and commodities. Based on his discussions with Mr Garcia and an email that promised five "insured" trades, Mr Bowyer decided to open a trading account with Titantrade. Amongst the documents he was provided by Mr Garcia was a bonus agreement. Mr Bowyer signed and returned this agreement.
59 Mr Bowyer made a number of trades between January and August 2016. Early on, when Mr Bowyer raised his concerns with Mr Garcia about the risks of the trades Mr Garcia was instructing him to make, Mr Garcia explained to him that the only reason that Mr Bowyer felt the exposure was high was because he had a relatively small account and "proportion-wise" exposure was high, but if he had a "$1M account" he "would feel a lot more comfortable with the open trades as most of them are currently winning". Mr Bowyer's evidence was that from the outset Mr Garcia told him to make large deposits to the website and told him that he needed a "reasonable" amount of funds in order to trade successfully. He recalled explaining to Mr Garcia that he was retired and he was funding the deposits into Titantrade through selling down his share portfolio, which made up his entire retirement savings, and that he had a mortgage over his property which he had to finance. Mr Garcia told him that Titantrade could provide an income to enable him to pay off the mortgage in two years.
60 After Mr Bowyer had been trading on the Titantrade website for about six weeks, Mr Garcia invited him to trade on a special Titantrade platform, which he was told was only offered to "VIP" clients. He was told that on the special platform a customer could not place trades directly and that all trades had to be placed by the Titantrade broker. He said that Mr Bowyer should transfer the balance of his existing Titantrade trading account to the new special platform, which Mr Bowyer did. Mr Bowyer also gave evidence that in early March 2016 Mr Garcia told him he would get him on a special offer whereby Titantrade's top analysts would control the trades. Mr Garcia told him that the minimum amount for those trades was US$500,000. At that time the balance of Mr Bowyer's account was about US$209,000. Mr Garcia told him that Titantrade would "loan" him US$290,000 to bring his balance up to US$500,000. Mr Bowyer was concerned about the amount he had deposited with Titantrade and advised Mr Garcia that he had decided to limit his exposure in the short term to approximately US$250,000. He also advised Mr Garcia that he needed to make monthly withdrawals of US$7,000 per month to meet his regular expenses. At first he was able to make the withdrawals from his account but after a while he started to encounter difficulties making withdrawals. He also grew concerned about discrepancies in the trading figures on his account. Mr Bowyer's experience over that time was that Mr Garcia was ignoring his requests for the regular withdrawals and that Mr Garcia's trades on his account were contrary to his express instructions and were resulting in losses. In August 2016, Mr Garcia was replaced by another broker, Andrew Lee, who started placing trades on Mr Bowyer's behalf. There was a rapid series of losses with an up to US$50,000 loss in one day.
61 In October 2016 Mr Lee was replaced by a Dylan Grey who advised Mr Bowyer that he could recover his funds by placing VIP trades and that the trades would be insured against any losses. Mr Grey advised that he could arrange for the debit of US$15,000 from Mr Bowyer's credit card as he had Mr Bowyer's access codes and advised that, if he made that deposit, he could obtain an equal bonus credit and Mr Grey would arrange authorisation of a US$25,000 refund to Mr Bowyer's credit card. Mr Bowyer, with Mr Grey's assistance, made an online website refund request from his account of US$25,000. Mr Grey told him it would be processed on receipt of the US$15,000 deposit from Mr Bowyer. The deposit was made but, on checking the website the following morning to confirm that the US$25,000 refund request had been processed, Mr Bowyer discovered the request had been cancelled. When Mr Bowyer followed this up with Mr Grey, Mr Grey told him that the US$25,000 refund would not be approved. Mr Bowyer requested a refund of the US$15,000 deposit, which Mr Grey also refused. After Mr Bowyer threatened to close his account, a US$5,000 withdrawal was agreed and re-credited to his bank account. Mr Bowyer gave evidence that from January to August 2016, he deposited a total of approximately US$471,684 into his trading account, was able to withdraw A$71,444 and his final online trading account balance was approximately US$6,000. At the time of swearing his affidavit, Titantrade had closed his access to that account and to the remaining balance of US$6,000.
62 Ms Graham gave evidence that she opened an account with Titantrade in May 2016. Once she opened her account, she deposited money to her online trading account using her credit card so she could place binary options trades. She was contacted by a Kevin Lambert who advised her that he worked for Titantrade as a senior broker. Mr Lambert asked her about her financial situation and she explained that she lived on income from her superannuation savings. Her evidence was that Mr Lambert told her that the savings she had in superannuation were "going nowhere" and that "we could make [her] another $100,000 on top of her superannuation". She was encouraged to withdraw money from her superannuation fund and invest it through Titantrade and given an assurance that her money would be safe and protected. She traded in binary options using the website from about May to October 2016 and throughout that period Mr Lambert gave her instructions about which trades to place on the website and how much money to place. She did not make any personal decisions on which trades to place or how much to place but always followed Mr Lambert's instructions. Initially she made wins on her trading. In August 2016 Mr Lambert recommended that she move her superannuation into the Titantrade account "to make some real money", which Ms Graham did, with the exception of A$10,000, which she retained in her superannuation account. Her evidence was that sometimes after she placed a trade she was awarded a bonus, which encouraged her to keep trading. By September 2016 she had deposited about A$38,000 under the instructions of Mr Lambert. She made a request to withdraw A$5,000. Although she was told by Mr Lambert that he would arrange for the repayment, that never happened. Ms Graham was later told that she had no money left in her Titantrade account. From May to October 2016 she had deposited a total of A$46,405, comprised of A$38,000 from her superannuation account and the balance from credit and debit cards, all of which she lost.
63 Mr Tottman's evidence was that he opened an account in January 2016 after being contacted by broker Andrew Lee. Between the period January to April 2016, Mr Lee gave him directions about which trades to place on the Titantrade website. In February 2016 Mr Lee told him that if he put A$5,000 into his account he would be guaranteed to win the first three trades, which Mr Tottman thought sounded good so he put the trades on as Mr Lee instructed him. In March 2016 Mr Tottman asked to withdraw the funds from his Titantrade account, the balance of which at that point in time was approximately A$20,000. He was told by Mr Lee that he would lose half of what he had in the account as he had to reach a certain amount before he could withdraw it. Mr Lee instructed him to place a trade, which Mr Tottman agreed to because he felt "trapped by the whole situation". The trade made a profit of A$2,000. In late March and early April 2016 Mr Lee told him he needed to make a certain "turnover" figure in his online trading account before he could make a withdrawal. Mr Tottman made further trades as instructed by Mr Lee, which he lost. In May 2016 Mr Lee was replaced by a new broker, "Raymond". Like Mr Lee, Raymond directed Mr Tottman about which trades to put and Mr Tottman placed trades as instructed. Despite the promises, most of the trades he was advised to make were unsuccessful and Mr Tottman started to lose the money he had deposited. After a while, Mr Tottman told Raymond he wanted to withdraw what was left in his account. He was told he was not entitled to make a withdrawal and that he had to make a 70% profit on his deposits to release the money in his account and would have to pay a 30% exit fee. Mr Tottman made his last trade in August 2016. In total he deposited A$25,600 and when he stopped trading he had an online balance of A$1,500.
64 Ms Malland gave evidence that after she opened her account with Titantrade in late January 2016, she had regular contact initially from Bruno Gold at Titantrade and then from another Titantrade broker, Gary Hales. At first, her trades were mostly successful and her online Titantrade account was credited with bonuses. She was encouraged to deposit more and told that she would receive bonuses to trade with, but eventually she lost most of the funds she had deposited and the bonuses she had earned. Despite depositing a total of US$137,973, her final account balance by June 2016 was approximately A$140, but with the bonuses credited to her account she still had sufficient funds to trade with.
65 In around August 2016 Ms Malland received a Skype call from a person who introduced himself as Charles Goldsmith who said he worked for Titantrade and that he was a recoveries manager. She was told that he had been specially appointed to her to help her recover the money she lost while trading on the website. She agreed to allow him to help. In August 2016 she emailed a withdrawal request form for A$3,500. In response she received an email telling her that there were turnover withdrawal requirements to meet as she had received a bonus on her account and she was told to continue trading until she reached the required turnover. In October 2016 she was contacted by a Dr Florian Schulte who told her he was a professor and senior manager of Titantrade and that he would help her to recover all her money, and any trades he helped her place would be fully insured because he had special broker's insurance. He told her that Titantrade would give her US$80,000 in order to trade and that she could trade without using her own capital but she would need to make a US$20,000 deposit in order to gain access to this special recovery arrangement. He told her to put on three trades which he said were guaranteed. Those representations are evidenced in an email from Dr Schulte, which stated:
Dear Mrs. Helen Malland,
It is an absolute pleasure being your new account manager and financial advisor. As mentioned, trading with me is fully-insured through my Broker's Insurance policy and my FTSE License (03101081).
With a 20K USD deposit I will completely abolish ALL terms and conditions connected to/with the "Bonus Agreement". Therefore entitling you to a future, unproblematic withdrawal of funds. The entire balance of your Titantrade account will be available after a 14-day interim period.
Your 20K deposit will go UNTOUCHED in your Titantrade account, and is available to withdraw at your request. I use these funds in order to access this legal agreement.
Additionally, I will give you 80K in unbinding "Recovery Funds" to cover the lost trades with Mr. Charles Goldsmith. With these funds, we will continue to trade together, without risking ANY of the capital of your investment as specified previously.
For any further questions or concerns I'm always at your bequest.
Most sincere regards,
Prof. Dr. Florian Schulte
Chief Financial Consul-VIP Relations
FTSE License-03101081
66 Ms Malland did not have US$20,000 to deposit but she made a deposit of A$7,000 to the website using her credit card. That money was used to place trades under Dr Schulte's instructions and after a few days had earned about US$47,000 in profits. The "14-day interim period" to which Dr Schulte referred in his email to Ms Malland was due to expire on 28 October 2016. By 28 October 2016 all of the active trades expired, leaving her with a balance of approximately US$1,400. In total, Ms Malland lost US$145,600 from her superannuation savings and other savings she had used to make deposits into the Titantrade account.
67 I accept that the evidence given by the investors shows a pattern of conduct by One Tech and its representatives under which:
(a) they were initially enticed to trade by a number of wins and bonuses;
(b) they were directed by the brokers on the trades to place;
(c) when they began to lose on their trades, they were pressured to deposit more into their accounts and to make larger trades to recover their loses;
(d) when they sought to withdraw the funds in their accounts their withdrawal requests were refused because they did not meet the conditions for withdrawal; and
(e) they lost all, or substantially all, of their funds.
68 There is also nothing to suggest that the persons holding themselves out as representatives/brokers of Titantrade were not acting within the scope of One Tech's authority during the relevant period and it can be readily inferred that they were.
69 Each of the representations was false or misleading. Contrary to the representations, the investor affidavits show that:
(a) while some investors initially made profits, in the long term all investors lost their money, regardless of the size of their deposit;
(b) the investors lost on trades, though encouraged to continue trading with promises that trades were insured against loss or guaranteed to win;
(c) One Tech was not licensed to offer binary options in Australia and I infer that none of the representatives/brokers of Titantrade was licensed to offer binary options in Australia either;
(d) the representatives/brokers of Titantrade did not act in the best interests of the investors;
(e) profits and returns generated by trading in binary options could not be withdrawn by the customer on request. The right to withdrawal was made conditional upon the customer meeting the "margin requirements". The terms and conditions contained the following clause:
7. Bonuses
7.1 Company may offer the Client Bonus as Credit or tangible gifts, from time to time, at its sole discretion.
7.2 Unless stated otherwise in writing by titantrade the client terms of any offer as a precondition for making withdrawals after receiving a trading benefit is to fulfil options trading volume of at least 20 times the amount of the benefit plus the deposit amount combined: (Total deposit + Total trading benefit)*20 = Required Trade Volume.
This was also reflected in the bonus agreements signed by the investors. In practical terms, as the required trade volume was at least 20 times the deposit amount combined with the value of the bonuses, the trading level required to be met to withdraw funds could never be achieved and an investor could never meet the condition to withdraw funds. Further, One Tech retained the right to cancel a customer's withdrawal request "if, according to [One Tech's] discretion" the remaining funds after withdrawal would not be sufficient to secure open positions(s) in the trading account: cl 4.8 of the website terms and conditions.
70 I further find that by making the representations, One Tech engaged in conduct in relation to a financial product.
71 A claim for misleading or deceptive conduct under s 1041H(1) depends upon the effect or probable effect of the conduct on the person to whom that conduct is directed, rather than upon any lack of care or a state of mind of the party which engaged in that conduct: Yorke v Lucas [1985] HCA 65; 158 CLR 661 at 666 per Mason ACJ, Wilson, Deane and Dawson JJ and at 675 per Brennan J; Hornsby Building Information Centre Pty Ltd v Sydney Building Information Centre Ltd [1978] HCA 11; 140 CLR 216 at 228 per Stephen J (with whom Barwick CJ and Jacobs J agreed) and at 234 per Murphy J (both dealing with s 52 of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth), which is analogous to s 1041H(1) of the Corporations Act); Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Stone Assets Management Pty Ltd [2012] FCA 630; 205 FCR 120 ("Stone Assets Management") at [33]. The investors' evidence supports the finding that the representations were false in a material particular or materially misleading. By making those representations, One Tech engaged in conduct in relation to a financial product that was misleading or deceptive or likely to mislead or deceive in contravention of s 1041H(1).
72 The same evidence establishes, and I further find, that the false and misleading representations were likely to induce, and did induce, persons within Australia to apply for the trading in, or to acquire, binary options through the website and that, when making the representations, One Tech and the One Tech brokers/representatives knew them to be false in a material particular. I find therefore that One Tech committed multiple contraventions of s 1041E(1).
73 The evidence given by the investors also provides a sufficient basis for a finding of dishonest conduct against One Tech for the purposes of s 1041G(1), which I also make.