By Kate McClymont and Harriet Alexander
Convicted fraudster Warwick Kerridge has lost his job at a Double Bay lending outfit run by rich-lister Tony Denny amid a growing corporate scandal spanning multiple countries.
His abrupt departure follows revelations in the Herald on Wednesday that Kerridge had held several board positions in companies promoted by serial swindler Tim Alford, who is alleged to have misled investors, manipulated stock markets, embezzled funds, and otherwise misappropriated about $50 million from dozens of investors around the world.
Warwick Kerridge, pictured recently in Leura, has been jailed twice, bankrupted twice, and struck off as a solicitor.Credit: Rhett Wyman
Kerridge held the title of chairman of the investment committee at Central Real Capital, a private lending business based in Double Bay. According to its website, the firm offers “fast and flexible debt solution as an alternative to mainstream banks”.
It is run by rich-lister Tony Denny, who made his fortune selling used cars in Europe and, according to The Australian Financial Review’s 2024 Rich List, is worth $790 million.
But on Wednesday, Kerridge was removed from the firm’s website and confirmed on Thursday that he had resigned effective immediately.
There is a dispute whether Denny was aware of Kerridge’s background.
Kerridge was adamant that Denny was aware of his first conviction for a $17.5 million fraud against the Commonwealth prior to his employment. He said Denny became aware of his second conviction, which was related to the forgery of his girlfriend’s signature on her chequebook and the pawning of her jewellery during his employment.
Both convictions resulted in jail terms.
However, Denny said the human resources manager who recruited Kerridge had assured him it was “a pedigree placement”, and Kerridge had never disclosed his criminal convictions.
“He did not tell me, absolutely not,” Denny told the Herald. “I’m in deep shock, and we are parting company.”
Tony Denny at Central Real Capital’s Double Bay office.Credit: Louise Kennerley
In his resignation letter, Kerridge repeated his claim that Denny was aware of his background, although not all the details. His prior conduct was “not something I am proud of and must bear responsibility for”, he said.
Just as he falsely told others – including the US stock market regulator – Kerridge had informed his new employers that he’d left the law to pursue an investment banking career. The truth was that he had been struck off as a solicitor for stealing funds from a client and had been bankrupted twice.
Kerridge was chairman of FDCTech and its precursor, Genesis Financial, which were among several companies that Alford promoted to investors on the promise of a big return when they were listed on the stock exchange.
However, like many other Alford deals, the companies failed to list, and investors’ funds were allegedly diverted to Alford personally, which he spent on his extravagant lifestyle, including expensive restaurants, cocaine, sex workers, and other largesse showered upon women.
There is a warrant out for his arrest in Victoria, and several US victims have made statements about Alford’s alleged criminal conduct to the FBI.
Tim Alford with showgirls at the Crown casino in Melbourne in 2018.
Kerridge has told the Herald that he did not receive any money from his directors’ appointments and lost more than $1 million after offering a personal guarantee on a loan to a subsidiary of Genesis Financial, which Alford was trying to float.
“For a while I believed that this would be listed, and I’d get some shares from being on the board, but none of that happened,” he said.
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