The regulator has appointed receivers over private equity firm First Mutual and its director as it investigates concerns about alleged misuse of investor funds including $80 million allegedly spent on gambling.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has acted to appoint receivers over the assets of Gregory Raymond Cotton and First Mutual Private Equity as it investigated concerns about the alleged misuse of investor funds.
ASIC said it took the action due to concerns about the use of investor funds by Cotton, including for gambling, and to enable the receivers to identify any assets belonging to the defendants, including loans made to third parties.
On application by the defendants, the Federal Court also ordered that they be allowed to withdraw a further $250,000 from bank accounts subject to the freezing orders for the sole purpose of paying their legal costs.
ASIC is investigating First Mutual Private Equity and its director due to concerns they may have allegedly raised up to $131 million in investor funds.
According to ASIC, its investigation indicated around $80 million had allegedly been spent on gambling, with no actual investment activity found. At present, around $7.1 million of total assets of the funds invested have been identified.
The Federal Court ordered on 15 December 2025 that Robert Woods and Salvatore Algeri of Deloitte SRT be appointed as receivers to the property of Cotton and First Mutual.
ASIC said the orders made on 10 September 2025 freezing their assets remained in place.
The receivers have been appointed until 17 April 2026 and are required to identify and secure the property of the defendants, determine the amount of investor funds received, identify the uses made of those funds, and provide a report to the Federal Court by 20 February 2026.
The next hearing has been set for 10 April 2026.
ASIC secured initial freezing orders over their assets in August 2025 to protect funds while the investigation continued.
