ASIC, APRA and the Australian Taxation Office have obtained permanent injunctions against Timothy Barritt, Kelvin Mills and Carolyn Mills, who traded under the business name “Super Release”. The Federal Court in Brisbane was told the three have allegedly misled the trustees of a number of superannuation funds, and induced them to transfer members’ funds to superannuation funds they controlled.

This led to the early release of superannuation benefits, which is in breach of the law. Members of super funds wishing to access their preserved benefit before retirement can only do so on grounds of compassion and financial hardship.

ASIC said promoters of such early release schemes “are preying on people who are in financial distress”. If superannuation funds are released early, the person taking out the super could face taxation liabilities and penalties, and also see their retirement savings reduced.

It’s also been alleged that on receipt of the superannuation benefits, the three took a substantial fee for their services before paying the balance to the former members.

The injunctions prevent the three individuals from advertising or promoting the business Super Release. They are also prohibited from assisting individuals in obtaining the early release of their superannuation benefits.