Conman Peter Foster declared bankrupt after failing to pay up to ACCC

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This was published 6 years ago

Conman Peter Foster declared bankrupt after failing to pay up to ACCC

By Jenny Noyes
Updated

Almost four years after his SensaSlim product was found to be a scam, career con artist Peter Foster has been declared bankrupt after failing to cough up his dues.

Foster, who is currently in remand on charges relating to a separate con, was fined $660,000 by the Federal Court in April 2014 after an ACCC investigation found that SensaSlim Australia was promoting its weight loss nasal spray off research Foster had fabricated, along with an entire fake Swiss research institute – "Institut de Recherche Intercontinental".

Serial fraudster Peter Foster has done jail time in the US, Britain, Vanuatu and Australia.

Serial fraudster Peter Foster has done jail time in the US, Britain, Vanuatu and Australia. Credit: Simon Alekna

Foster had also claimed the spray, which purported to cause weight loss without changes to diet and exercise, was the subject of a global clinical trial that established its efficacy. No such trial ever existed.

SensaSlim Australia was fined $3.55 million for misleading or deceptive conduct after the court found Foster's role was "painstakingly concealed" from franchisees and consumers. Franchisees had paid almost $60,000 to sign up, and had been promised earnings of $4000 a week from selling the bogus spray.

Conman Peter Foster is a self-described "international man of mischief".

Conman Peter Foster is a self-described "international man of mischief".Credit: AAP

Justice Yates, who handed down the penalty, described Foster as "beyond redemption". An unsuccessful attempt at appealing the decision landed Foster with an order to pay the ACCC $53,714 in costs, which Foster was required to make a payment on by December 14. When he failed to do so, the ACCC applied for a sequestration order.

A spokesman for the ACCC said Foster had been ordered to pay their costs on a number of other legal proceedings between October 2013 and November 2016, none of which had been paid. Although the total amount of costs has not been assessed by the Federal Court, the ACCC estimates it to stand around $1 million.

"The ACCC will consider whether to pursue the other unpaid costs once we have more information about Mr Foster's estate," he said.

Foster's failure to pay up follows a career's worth of dodgy behaviour that dates as far back as the 1980s – when he enlisted model Samantha Fox and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of Cambridge, to spruik his "Bai Lin tea", which claimed to be an "ancient Chinese" weight loss secret but turned out to be ordinary black tea.

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In 2002, his real estate dealings with Cherie Blair in the UK were dubbed "Cheriegate" by the British press and placed intense pressure on her husband, then-Prime Minister Tony Blair. At that point, he was already a notorious fraudster with multiple convictions who'd served time in Australia, Britain and the United States.

Foster was permanently banned from any involvement in the cosmetics, weight loss and health industries in 2005 following another ruling on shonky diet pills. He's been in and out of jail and the courts during the years since, including but not limited to his fraudulent activity with SensaSlim.

In February last year, Foster was arrested on the Gold Coast for "fraud related issues" in connection with a sports betting scam and extradited to NSW. In July, he was deemed a "completely unacceptable" flight risk and refused bail.

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