Adelaide retail scion Matthew Trim bankrupt after failed alleged ‘Ponzi’ scheme

The son of a famous Adelaide retail family has been declared bankrupt, accused of embezzling funds from a real estate agency, and now a liquidator wants to question him in court.

Matthew Trim and wife Olivia during his days as an Adelaide restaurateur.

Adelaide retail scion Matthew Trim has fallen into bankruptcy after being accused by liquidators of running a “Ponzi” scheme that allegedly embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from a failed real estate agency before its collapse.

The former restaurateur and his former business partner, Remo Russo, were the founding directors of commercial real estate agency Commercial Adelaide, which was placed into liquidation last May amid an investigation by Consumer and Business Services and SA Police into claims from former clients that more than half a million dollars worth of their deposits had gone missing.

After concluding that most of the funds – more than $480,000 – was transferred to Mr Trim before the company’s collapse, liquidators are now seeking to bring the former restaurateur before the courts to ask where the money went and whether it can be recovered to repay creditors left out of pocket.

Olivia and husband Matthew Trim, who operated a series of restaurants in Adelaide.

“I have conducted investigations into the affairs of the company and as a result, it appears that the company may have been operating a Ponzi scheme as client deposits held in the company’s statutory trust account were misappropriated and paid to related parties,” liquidator Stuart Otway of SV Partners says in his latest report to creditors.

“Upon review of the company’s bank statements, I identified that the company had made payments totalling $243,687 from its trust account and $237,446 from its operational account to Matthew Trim, totalling $481,133. I am currently unaware of what assets Mr Trim currently owns.

“Subject to obtaining sufficient funding, I intend to issue a summons to Mr Trim to examine him on the following issues: his asset position (and) the misappropriation of funds from the company.

“The examination will also assist in preparing a supplementary report to ASIC advising them of Mr Trim’s possible misconduct.”

However, any hope of recovering funds from Mr Trim appear slims due to his bankruptcy last week.

Mr Trim was declared bankrupt in Melbourne’s Federal Circuit Court on October 3 over a $110,043.74 debt to the bankrupt estate of his father, Russell Trim, who previously ran Adelaide’s Trims clothing business before it was revived under new owners.

Bankrupt businessman Remo Russo.

Mr Otway’s latest report reveals that Mr Russo, a former Adelaide City Council candidate, has also declared bankruptcy since the collapse of Commercial Adelaide.

According to the report, $55,000 paid out of Commercial Adelaide’s trust account was likely to have gone towards Mr Russo’s purchase of a beach house at Port Willunga, which he then sold for $1m earlier this year.

Liquidators secured $80,000 from Mr Russo as part of a settlement of their claims over the property sale.

Mr Otway is seeking funding from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to continue his investigations into potential offences committed by Mr Trim in the lead up to the company’s collapse.

A SAPOL spokesman confirmed the police investigation was ongoing.

“The investigation is complex and ongoing and there is no update at this time,” the spokesman said.

It’s not the first time Mr Trim has been embroiled in a dispute with clients.

In 2020 he sued prominent Adelaide landlord the Ginos Group for $1.65m, claiming it failed to pay him a commission as part of the $48.5m sale of Regent Arcade in the Adelaide CBD. The matter was settled for an undisclosed sum.

Mr Trim previously operated restaurants including Grace The Establishment at Norwood, Farina on Hindmarsh Square and North Adelaide restaurants Sparrow and The Manse. Following their closure several years ago he joined forces with Mr Russo to establish Commercial Adelaide in 2019.

He did not respond to requests for comment.