Lauren* and her family fell victim to a fraudulent financial advisor who provided deceitful advice and convinced her that she was investing in a property that was to be built.

The advisor stole the money and fled the country, leaving Lauren and her family in a difficult financial situation and causing them to apply for a financial hardship loan as they were unable to meet their mortgage repayments. 

The CSLR payment has prevented Lauren and her four kids from having to sell their house and fall deeper into financial hardship. 

"We invested with a licensed financial advisor who turned out to be fraudulent and stole all his clients' money, including ours. We lost a significant amount and approached a liquidator, who suggested lodging a claim with AFCA. However, the process was delayed due to COVID-19, and then we had to wait for the CSLR's establishment.

 

The advisor provided deceitful advice. We believed we were investing in a property being built and he managed to convince us to give him access to our super funds. He had a way of making people trust him but he took our money a year before we even agreed to the investment - which wasn't even real. He withdrew our superannuation funds without our consent and eventually, he fled the country and escaped justice.

 

We had to apply for a financial hardship loan because we couldn't meet our mortgage payments, especially with four kids, two of whom have special needs.

 

The CSLR team was incredibly helpful, keeping me informed every step of the way. The compensation was like a massive weight being taken off our shoulders. It changed our lives. Without it, we would have had to sell our house. Now, we can pay a substantial portion of our mortgage, significantly reducing our payments."

*Name changed for privacy